Beautifully Flawed
by greekfreak302
Summary: Annabeth Chase, talented new celebrity, runs into a face from her past- Percy Jackson, golden boy of Hollywood. When the two are spotted together, problems arise. Will they be able to find love again? Or will their flaws get in the way? *I kind of suck at summaries* Percabeth Au, human.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: No one is as awesome as Uncle Rick. Including me. Characters belong to him.**

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><p>Annabeth climbed over gnarled tree roots in the path, trying to navigate her way through the forest. Normally she would have found the cabin in a matter of seconds, but she was too giddy with excitement to think clearly.<p>

They were going on a date!

She let out a loud squeal, quickly putting her hand on her mouth. And then she groaned; why did Percy do this to her? It was as if he put a spell on her and made her think like...a love-struck teenage girl.

The bright shining moon illuminated the path, leading Annabeth to her destination. More than once she made wrong turns, and more than once she thought about turning back. But she couldn't.

She had a date with Percy Jackson. Her somewhat boyfriend. Her best friend. The boy- no, the _man_- she'd loved for years.

Annabeth stopped walking and blinked. She realized that she was more infatuated with Percy than she thought. She hated the fact that she was at his mercy, and with a bat of an eye he could turn her into a fangirl. And yet she continued to love him.

'Why?' she'd asked herself this question for years, and to this day still had no answer. It was bizarre, the way she'd fallen for him so quickly; one minute she thought he was an ignorant idiot, and then next he was suddenly a great person in her eyes, one that truly had a good heart and could do no wrong.

That naive thirteen year old girl had had a much needed wake-up call long ago.

It was strange, how they were together all this time and he'd never asked her on a real date.

_*****Flashback*****_

_"Don't worry, they'll just think you went shopping or something," Percy said, reaching over and grabbing her hand._

_She rolled her eyes and stared out the window. "Yeah, because everyone comes home soaking wet after a day at the mall. 'Where are your bags, Annabeth?' 'Oh, I just lost them when I fell into the lake.'"_

_"Why do you have to be so difficult?" Percy asked._

_"Why do you have to be so cretinous?" she retorted without thinking. She winced, thinking she'd gone too far. Percy was only trying to help. But when she looked over at him, Percy's eyebrows were knitted. "It means stupid, Stupid."_

_"Yeah, well you're so..." Annabeth rolled her eyes. Percy seriously needed a thesaurus. "Shrewd," He finally said, proudly sitting straighter in the drivers seat. Annabeth raised an eyebrow, not amused. "Is that supposed to be an insult?"_

_Percy sighed exasperatedly. "It's not my fault I don't swallow dictionaries. Unlike _someone_."_

_She opened her mouth to reply, but closed it again, not wanting to continue the name calling and insults. This was what they did when they were twelve, and things were innocent. Times have changed. They were no longer kids who called each other names and teased for amusement- at least, Annabeth wasn't; she couldn't say the same for Percy. Things were more complicated now._

_"I understand you're trying to help, but what am I supposed to do? As soon as I step through the door, I'll be grounded for life. So on top of being grounded, I have exams to worry about, Matthew and Bobby, Yale, graduation, and what else? I don't want to add anything else on my plate. I'm already full."_

_"_And_ I have-"_

_"-do you want to go on a date with me?" Percy asked, interrupting her. Annabeth stared at him, but his eyes were trained on the road, his face passive. She blinked, opening and closing her mouth like a fish out of water. She didn't know what to say. If she says yes, did that mean they would start a serious relationship, unlike the fooling around they did now? Would they _still_ have to be exclusive? Oh, how she would love to kiss Percy in front of Drew Tanaka's face._

_On the other hand, if she said no, would that ruin their relationship? Would he even talk to her? It wouldn't surprise her if he totally started ignoring her out of the blue. Percy was like that; one minute he'd be all over her, the next he'd stay away from her as if she had the plague._

_Snapping out of her thoughts, Annabeth forced herself to answer. "I don't know."_

_"It's not that hard of a question. Yes or no," Once again, his tone was apathetic, as if he didn't care what her answer was._

_Her heart spoke for her. "Yes."_

_Percy gave the goofiest smile, looking over at her affectionately. "Percy! The road!" He quickly turned his attention back to the street, narrowly avoiding a car crash, but he never let go of her hand the whole ride back home._

_**End of flashback**_

She remembered like it was just yesterday. Well...it _was_ just yesterday. But she still remembered how her heart swelled with jubilation when Percy kissed her goodnight. Sure, she got grounded for two weeks, and sure she was risking getting an even longer punishment time by sneaking out, but Percy was worth it.

She ran ahead, incapable of holding her excitement any longer.

Almost running into the lake, Annabeth stopped, remembering to turn left. As she walked along the shore, she watched the moonlight glitter and bounce off the dark water.

Looking up from the water, a grin broke out on her face. A light in the small cabin was on.

When she finally got there, Annabeth pushed open the door, not sure what she should expect. A candle lit dinner along with Percy in a tux holding out a rose? She laughed quietly. Like that was going to happen. Percy holding two mugs of hot chocolate sitting by a fire? It was summer.

Annabeth was sure she hadn't turned on the 'teenage fantasizer' switch in her brain. When and why had she thought up these scenarios in her head?

What she really saw was nothing like what she had hoped.

The fireplace was unlit and there were no signs of hot chocolate. There was no romantic dinner or flowers; the dim source of light came from the oil lamp they had left on. And worst of all, there was no sign of Percy.

She tried not to freak out. "He might be running late," She reasoned to herself, hoping that was the case.

She sat outside of the door on the wooden steps, staring out at the lake. The wind whipped through her hair, making her feel like she was in some sort of cliché romance movie.

And hour passed

Two hours.

She sniffed, her eyes burning. '_Don't do it, Annabeth_,' she thought sternly. '_You will not cry. You're not going to cry over Percy Jackson. You always knew he was going to break you're heart, so why cry now? It's no surprise; he's a jerk. DO. NOT. CRY._' And so she didn't. The voice was right. She'd always semi-expected something disappointing with Percy, so there was no point shedding tears over the bastard. Instead of allowing the tears, anger quickly pushed aside disappointment.

Looking around, a glint of metal caught her eye. She turned and stood up, walking to where she saw it.

Kneeling down, Annabeth picked up the object. Studying it in her hands, she saw it was a blue pendent. Squinting, she realized it was sapphire and not plastic, waves etched into the background, a pink chunk of coral embedded in the center. It made the necklace look bizarre and exotically beautiful at the same time. There was a postit stuck to it.

Ripping off the blue piece of paper, Annabeth read it. In scrawled writing, "I tried and I can't" was in the center, along with a frowny face. She crumpled the note, her face flushing in anger.

A tear slipped down her face as she looked down. She promised herself she wouldn't cry. '_Well, it's just one of the many broken promises with Percy Jackson, right?_' she thought.

She didn't know how she had possibly missed it before, but Annabeth found herself standing in the middle of a giant heart drawn in the sand, "I'm sorry" written into it.

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><p>"Ms Annabeth Chase, Valedictorian!"<p>

Smoothing out the white and golden graduation robe, Annabeth stood up and walked up the stage to the podium, stumbling in her heels. She smiled at Mr. Blofis. And no, it wasn't "Blowfish". She'd asked.

She accepted the award. After her short speech, she sat on one of the chairs on the side of the stage, as rehearsed. Annabeth listened as everyone's name got called up to the stage. It seemed like Annabeth and her brother Malcolm were the only ones getting a full scholarship.

When Percy was called to the stage, he merely glanced at Annabeth and scowled, returning his focus to the crowd. Unlike hers, his speech got a standing ovation, along with wolf whistles and roses. Okay, that might've been an exaggeration, but the crowd actually_ responded_ to his speech instead of clapping in union like they did hers.

Percy sat next to Annabeth, still beaming at the rest of the auditorium.

Glancing down at the massive check in his hands, Annabeth smiled."Congratulations, Percy." He stopped smiling and gave her a look of disdain, then looked away without answering.

Taken aback, Annabeth forced herself to stay quiet. What was his _problem_?_ She_ should be mad, not him. He had ditched her at the cabin and ignored her the rest of the week. In school he would pretend he didn't even know her.

Whenever she went up to confront him, he would be obnoxious and rude. Probably because they were in front of his 'friends' and he wanted to act like he didn't know her. More than once she'd ask him if he was embarrassed by her and more than once he'd swear he wasn't. He said he was keeping their relationship a secret because he was 'trying to protect her'. Like she hasn't heard that crap before.

"You too," He finally said, smiling at her rather forcefully.

The principal got on stage and gave an hour long speech. Annabeth could barely contain her excitement. They were graduating! She was going to Yale! She was finally following her dream of becoming an architect.

Percy Jackson's attitude was not going to ruin her big day.

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><p>During the slide show, Annabeth grabbed Percy's hand and pulled him behind the curtains. "What," He snapped, yanking his hand from her.<p>

She willed herself not to look hurt. "Stop." Percy said. Annabeth stared at him.

"What?" She asked, dumbfounded. He shrugged, hands in pockets. "Stop. Stop staring at me like I ran over your puppy." She punched his arm the hardest she could. "Don't tell me to stop! I have a reason to be hurt! You're the one who stood me up."

He cleared his throat, obviously uncomfortable."I'm sorry, but I know what I want now," he answered plainly, looking down.

She gaped at him. "What?" How would he think that's an acceptable answer for standing someone up? "I waited for three hours! I thought that you-" He reached out and pointed to her neck.

A faint smile was displayed on his face. "You actually wore it."

She blinked. What? Absentmindedly, her hand went to her neck and she pulled the necklace from beneath her dress. She started fiddling with it, biting her lip. "I ,uh...yeah. I never take it off. It helps clear my mind."

He smiled.

She shook her head. "What am I doing," she muttered. Annabeth poked his chest. "I am supposed to be mad at you! And, no, I do not accept your apology, whatever it's for." Percy's smile faded.

"You don't have to accept it. I've already made my decision, whether you like it or not." Pushing past her, Percy made his way back to his seat.

Annabeth was taken aback by his cold tone. He'd never spoken to her like that, even in arguments.

It was just proof Percy was changing.

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><p>"And, as I am sad to announce," The principal gestured to the group of students on the stage. They all stood up, like practiced. "Here are the graduating student body of Goode High." A collective cheer rang throughout the hoard of students.<p>

Enthralled, Annabeth jumped up and hugged her brother tightly. Her brother was one of her only friends. She only had one other friend in the school, Grover Underwood, but he was best friends with Percy. Actually, she hasn't spoken to him since last year. Annabeth was at the very bottom of social class, but that didn't really bother her. In fact, she was proud to not be one of those petty cheerleaders who spent ever moment on their phones or sleeping around to be popular.

Percy and Annabeth's eyes locked. His eyes, like the other day, were remorseful and distant. "I'm sorry." he mouthed. She shook her head. He finally looked away, to the group of cheerleaders and jocks surrounding him. Almost as if it were a button in his head, Annabeth saw Percy change his demeanor from apologetic to flamboyant and flirtatious. She never under stood why, but Percy always acted a certain way around her, and then a completely different way around everyone else.

Recently, Annabeth found out that Percy had many faces, and his close friends and herself only got to see who he really was.

Annabeth felt her blood boil as she watched Drew, cheerleader captain, run her fingers along Percy's arm, seductively pushing her chest onto him. He leaned down and whispered into her ear and she giggled loudly. Annabeth forced herself to look away.

"Annabeth, where are you going?" She hadn't realized she was walking away until a hand was placed on her shoulder. "I just need to clear my head. I'll be home in few hours, Malcolm."

Before he could protest, she pushed out of the metal doors and into the chilly night. It was drizzling, dark, and freezing. She wore nothing but a grey off the shoulder day dress and a thin gown of the school's colors. Yes, she was cold, but she needed to think.

Okay, quick recap: Percy's a douche and ruined one of the greatest days of her life. What new? It was always like this recently; they'd get close, then Percy starts pushing her away. And then he comes running back, acting like he's in love with her, and then...he acts like a douche again. And so the cycle continues.

Every time she told herself she wouldn't do this again and every time the same thing happens. She always gets hurt in the end.

She was smart; shouldnt she be able to tell that her and Percy are opposites? There are obviously reasons why their personalities clash. And when opposites collide, in the bad way, people tended to get hurt.

She could almost see her mother shaking her head disdainfully at her girlish thoughts. She was raised to be smart; not to spend her every waking moment thinking about boys.

"Hey Wise Girl," Percy fell into step with her. She ignored him, deep in her thoughts.

"So you're going to Stanford, huh?" He tried striking conversation. "I'm happy for you, Beth. I really am. I'm glad you get to-"

"What the hell is your problem?" She demanded, whirling to him. "I have the time of my life with you at the beach, then you completely bail on me?! Weeks later, you're still not talking to me and _you're_ mad? For what reason? Tell me!" He opened his mouth to speak but she interrupted. "Shut up! And how dare you come up out of nowhere and strike up a conversation like we're friends?!" She shrieked.

"Whoa. Relax, Wise-"

"Don't you dare call me Wise Girl and don't you dare tell me to relax! That's what a friend would do. You lost your privilege when you left me at the lake!"

He grabbed her hands, but that didn't stop her from getting good punches thrown at him. She started yelling unnecessary curses at him.

"I HATE YOU PERCY JACKSON! I WISH YOU WOULD GO TO HELL!"

"No you don't," He said softly. "Yes, I do! I hate you! I hate you! I fucking hat-" He mashed his lips on hers. She pushed him away and stared at him, glaring. "You think you can just show up out of thin air after rejecting me and then kiss me, as if this fixes everything?" Annabeth demanded.

Percy seemed truly surprised at her reaction. "You think you can kiss me, and magically I'm no longer mad? Well, believe me Percy Jackson, I am beyond pissed right now."

"At least you didn't say you hated me," He smiled weakly. Slowly, as if asking for permission, he pulled her close and kissed her again, but she remained still, showing no emotion. He might as well have been kissing a stone wall.

But after a bit of coaxing, she reluctantly kissed him back, running her hand through his silky hair. He wrapped a hand around her waist, pulling her closer to his body. They broke the kiss to take a breath, she automatically felt like slapping herself for what she let slip out of her mouth.

"I love you." Percy stared at her. He pulled away, a pained look on his face. Annabeth was absolutely drenched now, the rain chilling her bones. She shuddered, hugging herself, watching Percy carefully. His eyes kept darting around nervously, as if just now realizing they were making out in public.

She was cold, miserable, and angry. Her hair stuck to her face, rain pounded on her, ghost cold chills ran through her body, and she could barely see, but it felt like her world stopped. It all depended on what Percy said next.

"Percy?" Annabeth asked, fear seeping into her tone. "Say something."

"I'm sorry, Wise girl, but I can't say the same. I can't- I _don't_ love you. I never have." He gently put a hand on her arm. She jerked out of his grip.

"No! Don't touch me!" She wanted to hit herself for the tears spilling out of her eyes. She didn't want to look weak in front of Percy. She didn't want him to see how much he had hurt her.

She forced herself to stop crying, her tone eerily calm. "Sorry doesn't cut it this time. You've officially forever fucked up whatever this was between us. You know what? I'm glad. Because I wouldn't want to have a relationship where we only meet in some stupid cabin. I'm no longer your whore, nor am I your secret," she laughed humorlessly. "I'm imbecilic for believing you actually might have loved me," she clapped. "It was a great act, really. That's what you should be; an actor. It's the only thing you're good at, besides hurting people."

He bit his lip and took a deep breath. There it was again- that blank look. He straightened up and nodded. "Okay." He said, his voice almost cracking. But ANnabeth was too worked up to notice how her words had affected him.

She watched Percy walk back into the building, not even sparing a glance behind him. It was pouring now. Annabeth finally let it all out, her sobs inaudible in the rain.

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><p><strong>AN:**

**Hello viewers. I know it took me a while to update, but I kept remaking this chapter and deleting it because I'm unsatisfied. Even if it didn't turn out how I wanted it to, I thought I might as well update and see how you like it.**

**Review!**

**~greekfreak302**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: No one is as awesome as Uncle Rick. Including me. Characters belong to him.**

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><p>She wished it was all a dream. But it wasn't, and Annabeth was left with a huge hole in her heart.<p>

She wanted to rewind time and correct whatever went wrong. Did she not give him enough attention? Did she go too far with the name calling? Did he not like her personality? Was it because of her social status? Was she just not good enough for him?

No. Whatever reason Percy broke up with her, it was _his_ fault, not hers. She acted like herself, and if he didn't like it, then he could suck it. She was done being pushed around by Percy Jackson, doubting her every move in front of him. She was not going to let Percy Jackson dictate her life anymore. Percy Jackson who? He's already forgotten.

LIES!

"It hurts so much," She hugged her pillow, laying down and sobbing into the side of the bed. She pulled the sheets over herself. Closing her eyes, Annabeth forced herself to think of happy memories. She remembered the time when Matthew and Bobby had put peroxide in her hair when she was 14.

_*****Flashback******_

_Annabeth stared at herself in the mirror, tugging at her hair. "That's it. I'm not going to school."_

_Percy, lounging on her bed, fake gasped. "Really? _The_ Annabeth Chase decides to skip school? It must be Armageddon." She __rolled her eyes, turning to face him. "They died my hair white!" She yelled._

_He glanced at her over the comic book he was reading. "It's just one strand, Wise Girl."_

_She held the piece of her bang, staring at it hard, as if willing the color to return. "So? If I hadn't noticed the shampoo feeling weird, I would have had all white hair!" She heard a quiet snickering. Narrowing her eyes, she stared at Percy through the mirror. "What's so funny?"  
><em>

_"You would look like an old lady. You'd finally act your age. I can almost see you all shriveled up, hunched over, giving some life-changing insight to little kids. That'd actually be pretty cool."  
><em>

_"ADHD acting up again?" She didn't want to voice her thoughts, but ever since entering her room, Percy was fidgety and annoying. He was either tapping his foot or hitting the wall or humming- off key - quietly that would get on Annabeth's nerves._

_"Yep," he answered, popping the 'p'. Unlike Percy, she actually took her medicine for her ADHD._

_Percy sat up. "We should go to a hair salon."_

_Annabeth sighed. "Percy, I don't want to get it re-died. I bet it'll just make me more moronic than I look now." He rolled his eyes. "Not for you. For me. I'll get a strand of my hair died so you won't have to go around school with white hair alone." Annabeth smiled and rushed forward, enveloping him in a hug. "Thank you!"_

_"Dont mention it, Wise Girl." He whispered, hugging her tighter._

_"I-"_

A heavy weight fell on top of Annabeth. She groaned, pushing the girl off of her. "What do you want, Thalia?"

She peeked out of the sheets to see blue eyes staring at her. Thalia Grace was the girl across the street. She was like the sister Annabeth never had and always wanted. Four brothers seriously sucked, but Thalia had four siblings too, so they were kind of riding in the same boat.

"I heard the crying, so I let myself in. Was it Percy?"

Annabeth squeaked and covered her head again. Thalia pulled the sheet off of Annabeth and dragged her out of bed. "Its been a month, Anna. Let him go."

She stared at spot past Thalia's ear, remembering that night with such clarity it felt like a fresh wound. His words rang in her ears. "_I'm sorry, Wise Girl, but I can't say the same. I can't- I don't love you. I never have._"_  
><em>

A tear slipped down her cheek. It burned her down to the core to think Percy could inflict so much pain upon her with a few simple words.

Thalia hit her with a pillow, shaking her shoulders. "Snap out of it, Annie. You have to let it go. It happened, and there's nothing you can do to change it. You just have to act like you're not hurting. Go to your happy place."

She cried onto Thalia's shoulder. "That's the thing, Thalia! Mostly all of my happy memories are with Percy." Once again, her brain was stuck on the heartbroken teenage girl mode. Wasn't she supposed to be stronger than this?

"Then make new ones." She said. Annabeth perked slightly. "Like...my architectural designs I've been working on? I mean, there not really finished, but I've been having Per..." and she stopped, frowning.

Thalia rolled her eyes. "Annabeth, my cousin is a jerk. I don't know why you ever even started dating him. I warned you. Look where we are years later." Annabeth sobbed harder, realizing how long they'd been together. Even if they haven't been together for five years, Annabeth has had a crush on him since she realized he wasn't a big doof. And eventually, that crush turned into love.

Blurry visioned, Annabeth looked up at Thalia. "We've been together for five years, Thals; best friends even before we started somewhat dating. I don't know how I'm going to get over this."

Thalia pulled Annabeth up, looking her in the eye. "It's not about forgetting, Annie. He's your first love. I'm sure you'll never forget that. But you just have to suck it up and accept the fact that you are no longer his. Show him you're not to be messed with. "

Annabeth nodding, putting up a stony-faced façade.

"Percy Jackson is dead to me." She straightened up, trying to look intimidating. Normally it wasn't that hard, but due to her current broken state, it was kind of hard to do anything at all.

Thalia crossed her arms, obviously not believing her lie. "Prove it. Percy's a player; you know he's going to be with a girl. Go pay him a visit. Show him you're not even fazed by what happened."

Annabeth opened her mouth to protest, but Thalia held up a firm finger. "This isn't only a test for him; it's for you, too."

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><p>After cleaning up- actually, Thalia insisted on putting on a dress and straightening her hair- Thalia and Annabeth left the bedroom. The second Annabeth stepped foot in the hallway, she was shoved back into the room. She tripped over her feet, falling onto the beanbag chair.<p>

"What the hell, Thalia?" Annabeth asked, puling herself up. She straightened out her dress.

"Shhhh!" Thalia stood against the closed door, panting hard, her face flushed. Annabeth smirked, finally realizing why Thalia was acting so weird. Straining her ears, Annabeth heard a door open.

Thalia had an insane crush on her adoptive brother, Luke. They used to be best friends, until Thalia realized he had feelings for him. Since then, she's just been stalkerish, obsessing over how she looked and how she acted around him. In turn, Luke always complained to Annabeth about how he thought Thalia was mad at him. In a way, it reminded Annabeth of her and Percy's relationship.

'_No_,' she chided herself. '_There is no relationship with me and Percy anymore_' It saddened her to think like that, but it was the ugly truth.

"C'mon, you're going to have to face him sooner or later!" Annabeth whispered. "No!" Thalia whispered back.

"He thinks you're mad at him. I'm sick and tired of hearing 'will you talk to Thalia for me' almost everyday." Annabeth tried- and failed- to mimic Luke's voice. "But he," Thalia blinked, her cheeks growing darker crimson. "I...really?"

While Thalia was still off guard, she opened the door and shoved her out of the bedroom. Thalia collided with Luke and they both tumbled to the ground ungracefully.

"Oh- hey Thals," Luke grinned up at her. Thalia's cheeks grew impossibly dark. "Um- hey- I - you- wassup, Luke?" She stammered, faceplaming. Luke chuckled. "I haven't seen you in a while, Thalia."

'_I'm glad love seems to be in their favor,_' she thought sadly. Annabeth shook her head. It didn't help her heartbreak to be envious of anyone.

She quietly shut the door behind her, going down the stairs and leaving the two to their own privacy.

"Guess I'm going to have to go through this alone," She said to herself, exiting the house.

* * *

><p>As soon as Percy's house came into view, Annabeth felt her dread growing. Immediately she turned around and started walking away, arguing with herself. She kept turning back and forth, earning weird looks, but it didn't matter. What mattered was that she was about to see the boy who broke her heart.<p>

"Shut up!" She screamed, internal voices yelling in her mind. "I am going to do this," She told herself. With all her willpower she walked up to the doorstep, her finger hovering above the doorknob. Immediately, her headache got worse.

He forced herself to ring the bell.

Every second she waited, Annabeth's heart felt like a monster was ripping her heart out. Every agonizing moment was killing her.

Finally the mahogany door opened. Annabeth's forced smile faded. A girl with long red hair stood in the doorway, wearing nothing but an oversized t-shirt. The freckles on her pale skin seemed like they were sprayed on with Cheetos. She looked Annabeth up and down. "May I help you?" It was easy to hear the hostility in her tone.

"I'm sorry, but I'm pretty sure this is Percy's house. Go get him." She crossed her arms. The girl continued sizing Annabeth up and turned with a 'hmph', calling out for Percy. "Percy! There's some bitch out here asking for you!"

It was all Annabeth had not to throttle the girl. She gritted her teeth, biting back a retort.

Moments later, Percy appeared in the doorway, breathing heavily. He wore no shirt, his belt was unbuckled, and his hair was disheveled. It wasn't hard for Annabeth to figure out what Percy was doing with that girl. She forced herself to look at his face, not his hickey.

When he saw it was Annabeth, he blinked. "Annabeth? What are you doing here?"

"I see you have company," Annabeth said, glaring at the red-head behind Percy. She hugged him from behind, kissing his neck and glaring at Annabeth over his shoulder. "Don't worry," Annabeth spat. "There's nothing going on between us. You can continue whoring with Percy when I'm finished speaking to him."

The girl stopped, her mouth open. When she regained her senses, she whined. "Percy did you hear what she said to me?"

He gently removed her hands from his waist. "It's fine, Nancy. Wait for me upstairs. It'll only take a second." Percy slipped out the door, ignoring Nancy's protests. He closed the door behind himself.

He awkwardly rubbed his neck. "So...what brings you around Wise Girl?" She flinched at the nickname, but shook it off. Percy looked apologetic. '_For what?_' She thought. '_What happened last month, or the nickname? Doesn't matter now, anyways._'

Shit. What was she doing here? She expected Thalia to do all the talking. "That was a really shitty thing you did," she blurted. She squeezed her eyes shut, instantly regretting what she said. "You kiss a girl, dump her, then leaved her alone in the rain. Real classy."

When she opened her eyes again, she saw Percy looking down, ashamed. "I know, Annabeth. But I just...I don't- I _can't_ feel the same way you feel about me. I tried."

Huh. So that was the reason Percy keep saying 'I tried'. Didn't make her pain feel any better, but it felt good to finally get an explanation. "I really do hate how I-" Annabeth silenced him with a hand. She shook her head.

"Percy, I didn't come here to interrogate you." His eyebrows knitted. "Then...why are you here?" It felt like Percy was killing her slowly with a butter knife. "I, uh...I just wanted to tell you that I needed my Netflix password back. I'm not paying eight dollars a month for you and your new girlfriend to watch movies." Normally Annabeth was great on coming up with great covers without thought, but this one was just lame. She couldn't think properly.

"She's not my-"

"Goodbye Seaweed Brain." It was his turn to wince at the old nickname. With one last look into his pained sea green eyes, she turned away.

As she walked away, she felt his eyes burning holes into her back. It was now her turn to leave Percy. Although she wasn't ready to completely let him go just yet, she had no issue with pretending like he never existed.

Annabeth stopped. She realized that that was the truth. She was saying goodbye to Percy Jackson. He no longer plagued every thought she had. She was finally letting go.

* * *

><p><strong>AN**

**Hello viewers!**

**I know you guys want Rachel to be Percy's girlfriend, but I think that's so overplayed. I wanted something original. It might not be 100% original, but I've never heard of a Percy/Nancy relationship.**

**And, with Nancy, it makes it so much easier for her to be mean. I actually like Rachel, so it kind of sucks having to write her as some horrible bitch. But, I might. It depends.**

**AnnabethGranger712199: I'm sorry if I disappoint with the whole Percy/ Rachel thing. I already have in mind how I'm going to end this- I think. I kind of have this story preplanned, but I'm partially making this up as I go along. :)**

**AncientTide: You will get your Percy chapter. Later, rather than sooner. Sorry. Everything will be explained in time.**

**I'm sorry how I keep hijacking you with flashbacks, but I think it sort of explains some things for you readers. Am I wrong? There'll probably be more flashbacks, some Percy's POV and some Annabeth's. But just a little head's up: none of them are really in order, some of them are kind of going backwards in time, but I can't keep promises.**

**Oh, and the prologue might have ended this chapter. The story may or may not begin soon. (As in, next chapter-type soon)**

**Review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: No one is as awesome as Uncle Rick. Including me. Characters belong to him.**

* * *

><p>"Get off me, Thalia," Annabeth grumbled, shifting in the bed to throw the other girl off her. The weight fell off of her, and Annabeth heard a light thud, and she knew her manager most likely landed on her feet.<p>

"You need to wake up. We're late." Thalia sounded impatient.

"Not like that's anything new," Annabeth mumbled, snuggling back into the comfortable duvet. It was true; she'd been famous for nearly 9 months now, and most of the time her arrivals would be several minutes off schedule. She'd been warned that it was dangerous to have a reputation like that in 'the Hollywood biz' but Annabeth ignored the warnings.

It wasn't about the reputations. Sure, fans and money were a pretty good bonus, but it'd always been about singing. And soon her talents branched out into acting ( though most of the time she heavily criticized her own work) and the money and fan supply tripled over a span of a couple months.

Thalia had been with her every step of the way as her manager. Even when she was judged for not completing college, Thalia still supported Annabeth and helped her through the challenges of fame. The original plan was: get enough money to finish school, then get out. But before she knew it, she'd been sucked into Hollywood life, her dreams of becoming an architect.

Every once and a while the reality of it all would hit her with full force and left her thinking: wow, I'm really famous. What she even found more dumbfounding was the fact that she'd managed to make a 24/7 career out of a few hobbies she thought she was _okay_ at. Nothing spectacular. But everyone seemed to think differently, as if she really did have serious talent.

Annabeth hadn't realized she'd dozed off until her eyes shot open and she feel off the bed, screaming bloody murder. She was soaking wet and freezing, and her skin turn bright red with goosebumps rising.

Thalia stood in the doorway, laughing so hard she could barely speak properly. "Had to...wa-wake you...late." The bucket in her hand clattered to the floor as she held her sides.

After she'd calmed down a bit, she whistled to get Annabeth's attention. "We're late for the very important interview. But at least I gave you a somewhat shower."

Annabeth stared at her, her eyebrows knitted. And then it clicked. She had an interview with very important people who could probably crush her if she made a fool of them and showed up late. "Shit, Thalia!" Annabeth yelled, running to find pants while simultaneously brushing her hair.

"Don't yell my name like that; I tried to wake you up." She held out a skirt and Annabeth made a face, but she didn't have a choice, so she snatched it anyways. A few seconds later Annabeth was out the door, a brush stuck to her hair as she pulled down her navy and white tight fitting top that she hated. Her flats were held in her mouth as she pulled the shirt down, and Thalia handed her a few mint and Listerine strips.

This was what most of her mornings consisted of. They had Annabeth's makeup in the car too, so she'd look somewhat decent instead of showing up looking like a zombie with pale skin, chapped lips and dark circles.

As she finally settled down in the car, she couldn't help but wonder what she'd be asked about in the interview. She was new to the industry, she had talent, and she was somewhat dull compare to her other famous peers; what did that leave for the fans? Little to the imagination.

So it'd be inevitable if she was bombarded with questions about rumors that they'd most likely made up themselves. She'd learn a while ago that the trick to acing interviews was to never directly answer a question, and think about your words very, very carefully.

She was a strategist, so that was relatively easy to do. Who would've know that Hollywood was a minefield?

* * *

><p>Gwen, her publicist, had made a huge deal out of this, even setting back to back alarms on Annabeth's phone. Although it was one of those teeny-bopper type gossip shows, the hostess was no one to mess with.<p>

She said that her hope for succeeding in the business piggybacked on this, mostly because she had hyped this up with the fans. Everyone who remotely knew of Annabeth Chase was most likely watching this.

Two minutes late. That's all it took to make Annabeth an enemy of Tammi Empsai, the hostess of this very important interview.

"Welcome," Tammi said, leaning forward in her chair to give Annabeth a hand shake. While her tone was light and amused, her ice blue eyes glittered dangerously and her ice cold hand tightened around Annabeth's. She let go a few seconds later, but not without leaving little dents in Annabeth's palm with her talons for nails.

"I'm so glad to have you on my show," She smiled cheekily when the camera focused on her, but it dropped the second it was focused on Annabeth.

As soon as Annabeth arrived, she was shoved onto the set and in a chair, while Tammi took her seat across from her. The way she studied her reminded Annabeth of the way someone would study an opponent, looking for weakness.

"Um, yeah, I'm really glad to be here," Annabeth smiled as sincerely as possible and laughed. "This interview has been literally all I've been talking about for the week."Of course it wasn't true, but she was told to milk it for the audience. "Make it seem as if you would've died had you not been able to be here."

The interview was very invasive, asking her about very personal questions, but she could handle it. And as it rolled to a close, Annabeth couldn't hello bu think it's been way too easy.

And then Tammi leaned in a little, flicking her long blond hair off her shoulder. "Okay, so let's cut to the chase: we know you're secret."

Annabeth's heart seized, and she felt the smile falter for a second, but she quickly covered it with a confused look. "You know, I don't think I'm sure what you're talking about." Tammi smirked. It seemed evil to Annabeth, but she knew on screen it'd probably look all-knowing and confident.

"You've recently turned 19, right?" She asked, and Annabeth nodded.

Tammi tapped her pale cheek with a perfectly manicured talon. "So I couldn't help but wondering...have you ever gone to college?"

Annabeth had been almost certain she'd ask something else, something involving a green-eyed mistake she'd made a long time ago. Annabeth let out a little puff of air and pretended to be thinking. Of course Tammi already knew the answer to this question. She was just dragging it out for the viewers.

"Um, for while, but things got complicated." Shit. What happened to 'think before you answer questions'?

Tammi raised an eyebrow and glanced at the camera. "Complicated? How so?" She patiently waited for Annabeth to gather the answer to the question, tapping her finger silently. A smug look was plastered across her cruel features, thrilled to have caught Annabeth Chase off guard.

"Well," Tammi's eyes glanced down at Annabeth's fidgeting hands, "I mean, it was all so overwhelming, with the school work and a recent break up and money problems with my family. I just couldn't keep up with the drama and my work." She was treading on dangerous waters now. She wondered if Tammi noticed her mistake, but of course she did.

The hostesses eyes glinted with satisfaction. "Oh, money problems, you say? Is that why you've been working so hard since you first came up? To get money?"

Annabeth's eyes widened. She was failing this interview. No wonder Gwen had made such a big deal about briefing her about what was most likely to happen. "No, no, of course not." She sighed, as if it was a hard subject to talk about. "That's just part of the reason; I'm trying to support myself and my family, so they can live comfortably. So my brothers won't have to worry about not finishing college like I had. But the other part- I just really love what I do. I mean, I find it amazing that I was so privileged to have such amazing fans that I do."

Tammi put a hand to her heart. "So noble. But you also said something about a break up...?"

Shit. No, they couldn't make her talk. Could they? If Annabeth wanted to continue having fans she would. She took a breath, and looked up weakly at the camera, almost as if she were preparing herself. This was probably the only part of the interview that wasn't an act.

She hadn't addressed the 'Percy' question in a couple years. She couldn't make herself do it. Thalia never pried, but she always thought Annabeth was avoiding that topic. She was, but it wasn't something she liked to say out loud. It made Annabeth feel like a coward, running away from the massive problem that occupied a chunk of her heart.

"Wow, um, I'd never thought I'd be talking about him again. Uh, yeah, my boyfriend and best friend for years kind of ended it suddenly on graduation day. I'd kind of been distracted after that-"

"Because of heartbreak?" Tammi was eating this up. Annabeth nodded stiffly. "Yeah, and it somewhat interfered with my studies. I really did love him more than I thought. But I'm over it now," She said hastily. Why was she opening up to the whole world about her biggest secrets, do you ask? Annabeth was wondering the same thing.

"How sad," she pouted. "Rumor has it this mystery man is Percy Jackson? Thoughts?"

"Ah," She nodded. "Yeah, that's him. We were really close when we were younger, but I guess as we got older we drifted from each other."

"So you're still in love with him." Tammi concluded. Then she turned to face the camera, "Is there love in the air for Annabeth Chase and Percy Jackson? What about his girlfriend? Possible Percabeth! You've heard it here first-"

Annabeth's face paled. "No!" She yelled. Startled, Tammi turned back to her. "I'm over Percy. He's great and all, but I no longer harbor feelings for him. He's probably happily living his life somewhere that doesn't involve me and I'm totally happy for him. We're close friends. Nothing more." She rushed, her face flushing. She wasn't sure if this was true.

As said before, she'd never asked herself about him again. No if's, and's, or but's.

Tammi looked unconvinced. "Right. So, one sided Percabeth. Do we have a love triangle on our hands, folks? Is Percy the reason Annabeth left college? To pursue her dream, and a possible chance to reconnect with the hottie Percy Jackson? Find out next time, on _Allure_."

Annabeth had decided there was no point in interrupting again- she was already screwed- and let Tammi finish her conclusion. Tammi yelled "That's a wrap!" and a bell rang.

People started rushing around, no longer paying attention to the two women on set. Annabeth stood up and started walking away, but stopped herself. She approached the hostess, who was too concerned at fixing her make up in a compact mirror to notice her.

Annabeth tapped her shoulder, and Tammi's cold eyes looked up at her and narrowed, flashing with annoyance. "What was that?"

"When?" She asked innocently, her face smug and saying '_oh, this is going to be good_'. "Just now. You completely twisted my words, and made me look like a lovestruck little girl that wishes for nothing more than to be with Percy."

"That's because that's exactly what you are. Little girl." She emphasized her words, and Annabeth started reciting the numbers of pi in her head until she calmed down.

Tammi couldn't have been that much older than Annabeth. Maybe 25. But either way, if ego counted for age, Tammi would be too old to remember when she was born. Her fingers clenched and unclenched at her side.

"And what do you mean love triangle? He has a girlfriend" She demanded, but she wasn't sure she wanted to know the answer.

Tammi rolled her eyes in disgust. "What, do you live under a rock?" She pulled out her phone. "No, I'm to busy being a love-obsessed little girl, remember?" Tammi made a noise that sounded suspiciously like a hiss, and her eyes seemed to glow with hatred.

She'd always heard the latest news about Percy, but it wasn't like she was stalking him. It was hard to avoid him, because he seemed to be the golden boy of Hollywood and everyone felt the need to talk about him. Whenever she'd see his face, she wouldn't dwell; she'd simply think: oh, another stuck up celebrity, and went on with her day.

She turned the screen to Annabeth, who caught her breath. In the picture, Percy was standing with a woman, his hand around her waist. He wore a suit, his hair gelled back, and Annabeth couldn't help but realize how mature he looked, yet he looked the same but five times more handsome.

The woman next to him looked almost exactly like Tammi, but her skin was mocha brown and flawless. Her curly brown hair had been pinned back, and she seemed to stand with a certain intimidating elegance, one that'd make anyone fall for her. She wore a well fitting strapless purple gown that matched his tie. While she looked like royalty, a big smile plastered on her face, her dark eyes glittered dangerously, seeming to say:_ don't cross me_.

"This is Kelli. My twin sister. And if you say anything about either of our races I will gut you like a fish." Annabeth nodded mutely, still slightly shocked. "They're not really dating yet, but they will be. I have a feeling this interview really helped push them in the right direction."

Okay, so on top of twisting Annabeth's words and starting a rumor, she was simply doing all of this because it was helping her sister get Percy. "What was the plan, to have Percy see what a stalker I am then have Kelli swoop in and take him from me?"

Tammi looked like she had enough. "Please get out of my face," she said, standing up. Annabeth huffed, but stood back anyways, watching as Tammi walked away. She walked with a limp, and her maxi dress lifted high enough for a second to show a shiny leg, and she realized it was a prosthetic.

Wow. Hollywood was a pageant, where everyone was trophies and flaws- if you have any- was showcased to be shamed. And that's when she realized that everyone in 'the business' had flaws they were ashamed of. No matter how much you died your hair and acted all happy and had plastic surgery, there were still things you couldn't change.

For Tammi, that was her prosthetic. For Annabeth? Her heart was a big flaw that she wished would just get out of the way, just as much as Tammi probably wished she could be normal.

* * *

><p>"Talk to be, Annie." Thalia pleaded. Annabeth turned her back to her manager and faced the wall. "I swear I had no idea that they'd ambush you. Gwen warned me something would happen, but I didn't know this- shit, Annabeth, I screwed up big time!"<p>

Silence.

"I didn't want to do this," Thalia said, and she turned to the buttons on the elevator and pressed every one of them. "Thalia-!" Annabeth yelled.

"Ha! Annabeth, tell me you're not mad at you." Annabeth huffed, sitting down on the floor. Might as well. They were going to be there for a while. "I'm not mad Thalia. It's just- Tammi kind of resurfaced important questions that I didn't ask myself. I'm kinda in shock."

"Well, I might as well tell you now." Annabeth looked up at her manager. "Okay, so you know the unnamed film directed by Chiron Cenaur? Well, he wants you for the leading role."

Annabeth stood up, her spirits getting lighter after being so thoroughly crushed by the hostess who knew exactly what she was doing. "Seriously?" The Cenaur Project, as being known by curious fans, had been named number one movie of the year. New York Times had even said you'd be an idiot to pass up the chance to audition.

"Are you sure? He wants me?" She knew Chiron. She'd worked with him several times, and at one point he'd been her acting coach.

"Yes." Her smile dropped. "Now for the bad news. The, um, other leading role."

Why was Thalia acting like this? It wasn't like she hadn't worked with people she didn't like before. Unless... Annabeth's face paled and she slowly shook her head. "No, Thalia, don't tell me you did."

Thalia looked like she truly regretted the decision for the pain it caused her best friend/client. "I'm sorry, Annabeth. But next week, you'll be starting on the movie of the year with Percy Jackson as your co-star."

* * *

><p><strong>Update 61/15: Okay. I'm not sure what happened to the original chapter Four. I might've deleted it on one of my previous updates. That being said, I had to remake this chapter solely from memory, which was absolute torture. I tried my best, but my memory is absolute crap. Sorry those of you who stumbled along this huge error and still continued reading the story. I love you!**

**A/N:**

**Okay, so should Annabeth have a boyfriend? If so, who?**

**AlicTonksHPJ: thank you so much! Um, I don't really have an updating schedule, but I'll try for every week. **

**PiperGrace938: Sorry, but its not an Annabeth/Jason fic. **

**Review**

**~Greekfreak302**


	4. Two years later

**Disclaimer: No one is as awesome as Uncle Rick. Including me. Characters belong to him.**

* * *

><p>"Get off me, Thalia," Annabeth grumbled, shifting in the bed to throw the other girl off her. The weight fell off of her, and Annabeth heard a light thud, and she knew her manager most likely landed on her feet.<p>

"You need to wake up. We're late." Thalia sounded impatient.

"Not like that's anything new," Annabeth mumbled, snuggling back into the comfortable duvet. It was true; she'd been famous for nearly 9 months now, and most of the time her arrivals would be several minutes off schedule. She'd been warned that it was dangerous to have a reputation like that in 'the Hollywood biz' but Annabeth ignored the warnings.

It wasn't about the reputations. Sure, fans and money were a pretty good bonus, but it'd always been about singing. And soon her talents branched out into acting ( though most of the time she heavily criticized her own work) and the money and fan supply tripled over a span of a couple months.

Thalia had been with her every step of the way as her manager. Even when she was judged for not completing college, Thalia still supported Annabeth and helped her through the challenges of fame. The original plan was: get enough money to finish school, then get out. But before she knew it, she'd been sucked into Hollywood life, her dreams of becoming an architect.

Every once and a while the reality of it all would hit her with full force and left her thinking: wow, I'm really famous. What she even found more dumbfounding was the fact that she'd managed to make a 24/7 career out of a few hobbies she thought she was _okay_ at. Nothing spectacular. But everyone seemed to think differently, as if she really did have serious talent.

Annabeth hadn't realized she'd dozed off until her eyes shot open and she feel off the bed, screaming bloody murder. She was soaking wet and freezing, and her skin turn bright red with goosebumps rising.

Thalia stood in the doorway, laughing so hard she could barely speak properly. "Had to...wa-wake you...late." The bucket in her hand clattered to the floor as she held her sides.

After she'd calmed down a bit, she whistled to get Annabeth's attention. "We're late for the very important interview. But at least I gave you a somewhat shower."

Annabeth stared at her, her eyebrows knitted. And then it clicked. She had an interview with very important people who could probably crush her if she made a fool of them and showed up late. "Shit, Thalia!" Annabeth yelled, running to find pants while simultaneously brushing her hair.

"Don't yell my name like that; I tried to wake you up." She held out a skirt and Annabeth made a face, but she didn't have a choice, so she snatched it anyways. A few seconds later Annabeth was out the door, a brush stuck to her hair as she pulled down her navy and white tight fitting top that she hated. Her flats were held in her mouth as she pulled the shirt down, and Thalia handed her a few mint and Listerine strips.

This was what most of her mornings consisted of. They had Annabeth's makeup in the car too, so she'd look somewhat decent instead of showing up looking like a zombie with pale skin, chapped lips and dark circles.

As she finally settled down in the car, she couldn't help but wonder what she'd be asked about in the interview. She was new to the industry, she had talent, and she was somewhat dull compare to her other famous peers; what did that leave for the fans? Little to the imagination.

So it'd be inevitable if she was bombarded with questions about rumors that they'd most likely made up themselves. She'd learn a while ago that the trick to acing interviews was to never directly answer a question, and think about your words very, very carefully.

She was a strategist, so that was relatively easy to do. Who would've know that Hollywood was a minefield?

* * *

><p>Gwen, her publicist, had made a huge deal out of this, even setting back to back alarms on Annabeth's phone. Although it was one of those teeny-bopper type gossip shows, the hostess was no one to mess with.<p>

She said that her hope for succeeding in the business piggybacked on this, mostly because she had hyped this up with the fans. Everyone who remotely knew of Annabeth Chase was most likely watching this.

Two minutes late. That's all it took to make Annabeth an enemy of Tammi Empsai, the hostess of this very important interview.

"Welcome," Tammi said, leaning forward in her chair to give Annabeth a hand shake. While her tone was light and amused, her ice blue eyes glittered dangerously and her ice cold hand tightened around Annabeth's. She let go a few seconds later, but not without leaving little dents in Annabeth's palm with her talons for nails.

"I'm so glad to have you on my show," She smiled cheekily when the camera focused on her, but it dropped the second it was focused on Annabeth.

As soon as Annabeth arrived, she was shoved onto the set and in a chair, while Tammi took her seat across from her. The way she studied her reminded Annabeth of the way someone would study an opponent, looking for weakness.

"Um, yeah, I'm really glad to be here," Annabeth smiled as sincerely as possible and laughed. "This interview has been literally all I've been talking about for the week."Of course it wasn't true, but she was told to milk it for the audience. "Make it seem as if you would've died had you not been able to be here."

The interview was very invasive, asking her about very personal questions, but she could handle it. And as it rolled to a close, Annabeth couldn't hello bu think it's been way too easy.

And then Tammi leaned in a little, flicking her long blond hair off her shoulder. "Okay, so let's cut to the chase: we know you're secret."

Annabeth's heart seized, and she felt the smile falter for a second, but she quickly covered it with a confused look. "You know, I don't think I'm sure what you're talking about." Tammi smirked. It seemed evil to Annabeth, but she knew on screen it'd probably look all-knowing and confident.

"You've recently turned 19, right?" She asked, and Annabeth nodded.

Tammi tapped her pale cheek with a perfectly manicured talon. "So I couldn't help but wondering...have you ever gone to college?"

Annabeth had been almost certain she'd ask something else, something involving a green-eyed mistake she'd made a long time ago. Annabeth let out a little puff of air and pretended to be thinking. Of course Tammi already knew the answer to this question. She was just dragging it out for the viewers.

"Um, for while, but things got complicated." Shit. What happened to 'think before you answer questions'?

Tammi raised an eyebrow and glanced at the camera. "Complicated? How so?" She patiently waited for Annabeth to gather the answer to the question, tapping her finger silently. A smug look was plastered across her cruel features, thrilled to have caught Annabeth Chase off guard.

"Well," Tammi's eyes glanced down at Annabeth's fidgeting hands, "I mean, it was all so overwhelming, with the school work and a recent break up and money problems with my family. I just couldn't keep up with the drama and my work." She was treading on dangerous waters now. She wondered if Tammi noticed her mistake, but of course she did.

The hostesses eyes glinted with satisfaction. "Oh, money problems, you say? Is that why you've been working so hard since you first came up? To get money?"

Annabeth's eyes widened. She was failing this interview. No wonder Gwen had made such a big deal about briefing her about what was most likely to happen. "No, no, of course not." She sighed, as if it was a hard subject to talk about. "That's just part of the reason; I'm trying to support myself and my family, so they can live comfortably. So my brothers won't have to worry about not finishing college like I had. But the other part- I just really love what I do. I mean, I find it amazing that I was so privileged to have such amazing fans that I do."

Tammi put a hand to her heart. "So noble. But you also said something about a break up...?"

Shit. No, they couldn't make her talk. Could they? If Annabeth wanted to continue having fans she would. She took a breath, and looked up weakly at the camera, almost as if she were preparing herself. This was probably the only part of the interview that wasn't an act.

She hadn't addressed the 'Percy' question in a couple years. She couldn't make herself do it. Thalia never pried, but she always thought Annabeth was avoiding that topic. She was, but it wasn't something she liked to say out loud. It made Annabeth feel like a coward, running away from the massive problem that occupied a chunk of her heart.

"Wow, um, I'd never thought I'd be talking about him again. Uh, yeah, my boyfriend and best friend for years kind of ended it suddenly on graduation day. I'd kind of been distracted after that-"

"Because of heartbreak?" Tammi was eating this up. Annabeth nodded stiffly. "Yeah, and it somewhat interfered with my studies. I really did love him more than I thought. But I'm over it now," She said hastily. Why was she opening up to the whole world about her biggest secrets, do you ask? Annabeth was wondering the same thing.

"How sad," she pouted. "Rumor has it this mystery man is Percy Jackson? Thoughts?"

"Ah," She nodded. "Yeah, that's him. We were really close when we were younger, but I guess as we got older we drifted from each other."

"So you're still in love with him." Tammi concluded. Then she turned to face the camera, "Is there love in the air for Annabeth Chase and Percy Jackson? What about his girlfriend? Possible Percabeth! You've heard it here first-"

Annabeth's face paled. "No!" She yelled. Startled, Tammi turned back to her. "I'm over Percy. He's great and all, but I no longer harbor feelings for him. He's probably happily living his life somewhere that doesn't involve me and I'm totally happy for him. We're close friends. Nothing more." She rushed, her face flushing. She wasn't sure if this was true.

As said before, she'd never asked herself about him again. No if's, and's, or but's.

Tammi looked unconvinced. "Right. So, one sided Percabeth. Do we have a love triangle on our hands, folks? Is Percy the reason Annabeth left college? To pursue her dream, and a possible chance to reconnect with the hottie Percy Jackson? Find out next time, on _Allure_."

Annabeth had decided there was no point in interrupting again- she was already screwed- and let Tammi finish her conclusion. Tammi yelled "That's a wrap!" and a bell rang.

People started rushing around, no longer paying attention to the two women on set. Annabeth stood up and started walking away, but stopped herself. She approached the hostess, who was too concerned at fixing her make up in a compact mirror to notice her.

Annabeth tapped her shoulder, and Tammi's cold eyes looked up at her and narrowed, flashing with annoyance. "What was that?"

"When?" She asked innocently, her face smug and saying '_oh, this is going to be good_'. "Just now. You completely twisted my words, and made me look like a lovestruck little girl that wishes for nothing more than to be with Percy."

"That's because that's exactly what you are. Little girl." She emphasized her words, and Annabeth started reciting the numbers of pi in her head until she calmed down.

Tammi couldn't have been that much older than Annabeth. Maybe 25. But either way, if ego counted for age, Tammi would be too old to remember when she was born. Her fingers clenched and unclenched at her side.

"And what do you mean love triangle? He has a girlfriend" She demanded, but she wasn't sure she wanted to know the answer.

Tammi rolled her eyes in disgust. "What, do you live under a rock?" She pulled out her phone. "No, I'm to busy being a love-obsessed little girl, remember?" Tammi made a noise that sounded suspiciously like a hiss, and her eyes seemed to glow with hatred.

She'd always heard the latest news about Percy, but it wasn't like she was stalking him. It was hard to avoid him, because he seemed to be the golden boy of Hollywood and everyone felt the need to talk about him. Whenever she'd see his face, she wouldn't dwell; she'd simply think: oh, another stuck up celebrity, and went on with her day.

She turned the screen to Annabeth, who caught her breath. In the picture, Percy was standing with a woman, his hand around her waist. He wore a suit, his hair gelled back, and Annabeth couldn't help but realize how mature he looked, yet he looked the same but five times more handsome.

The woman next to him looked almost exactly like Tammi, but her skin was mocha brown and flawless. Her curly brown hair had been pinned back, and she seemed to stand with a certain intimidating elegance, one that'd make anyone fall for her. She wore a well fitting strapless purple gown that matched his tie. While she looked like royalty, a big smile plastered on her face, her dark eyes glittered dangerously, seeming to say:_ don't cross me_.

"This is Kelli. My twin sister. And if you say anything about either of our races I will gut you like a fish." Annabeth nodded mutely, still slightly shocked. "They're not really dating yet, but they will be. I have a feeling this interview really helped push them in the right direction."

Okay, so on top of twisting Annabeth's words and starting a rumor, she was simply doing all of this because it was helping her sister get Percy. "What was the plan, to have Percy see what a stalker I am then have Kelli swoop in and take him from me?"

Tammi looked like she had enough. "Please get out of my face," she said, standing up. Annabeth huffed, but stood back anyways, watching as Tammi walked away. She walked with a limp, and her maxi dress lifted high enough for a second to show a shiny leg, and she realized it was a prosthetic.

Wow. Hollywood was a pageant, where everyone was trophies and flaws- if you have any- was showcased to be shamed. And that's when she realized that everyone in 'the business' had flaws they were ashamed of. No matter how much you died your hair and acted all happy and had plastic surgery, there were still things you couldn't change.

For Tammi, that was her prosthetic. For Annabeth? Her heart was a big flaw that she wished would just get out of the way, just as much as Tammi probably wished she could be normal.

* * *

><p>"Talk to be, Annie." Thalia pleaded. Annabeth turned her back to her manager and faced the wall. "I swear I had no idea that they'd ambush you. Gwen warned me something would happen, but I didn't know this- shit, Annabeth, I screwed up big time!"<p>

Silence.

"I didn't want to do this," Thalia said, and she turned to the buttons on the elevator and pressed every one of them. "Thalia-!" Annabeth yelled.

"Ha! Annabeth, tell me you're not mad at you." Annabeth huffed, sitting down on the floor. Might as well. They were going to be there for a while. "I'm not mad Thalia. It's just- Tammi kind of resurfaced important questions that I didn't ask myself. I'm kinda in shock."

"Well, I might as well tell you now." Annabeth looked up at her manager. "Okay, so you know the unnamed film directed by Chiron Cenaur? Well, he wants you for the leading role."

Annabeth stood up, her spirits getting lighter after being so thoroughly crushed by the hostess who knew exactly what she was doing. "Seriously?" The Cenaur Project, as being known by curious fans, had been named number one movie of the year. New York Times had even said you'd be an idiot to pass up the chance to audition.

"Are you sure? He wants me?" She knew Chiron. She'd worked with him several times, and at one point he'd been her acting coach.

"Yes." Her smile dropped. "Now for the bad news. The, um, other leading role."

Why was Thalia acting like this? It wasn't like she hadn't worked with people she didn't like before. Unless... Annabeth's face paled and she slowly shook her head. "No, Thalia, don't tell me you did."

Thalia looked like she truly regretted the decision for the pain it caused her best friend/client. "I'm sorry, Annabeth. But next week, you'll be starting on the movie of the year with Percy Jackson as your co-star."

* * *

><p><strong>Update 61/15: Okay. I'm not sure what happened to the original chapter Four. I might've deleted it on one of my previous updates. That being said, I had to remake this chapter solely from memory, which was absolute torture. I tried my best, but my memory is absolute crap. Sorry those of you who stumbled along this huge error and still continued reading the story. I love you!**

**A/N:**

**Okay, so should Annabeth have a boyfriend? If so, who?**

**AlicTonksHPJ: thank you so much! Um, I don't really have an updating schedule, but I'll try for every week. **

**PiperGrace938: Sorry, but its not an Annabeth/Jason fic. **

**Review**

**~Greekfreak302**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: No one is as awesome as Uncle Rick. Including me. Characters belong to him.**

* * *

><p>"What? But that's not fair! These roles were promised to us!" Percy yelled, standing up. His chair toppled over. Percy stole the words right out of her mouth. Although it was probably the worst thing that could've happened, Annabeth couldn't help but smile at how much he sounded like a brat.<p>

Dionysus smiled. "Hollywood isn't fair. Deal with it."

"Chiron, Percy's right. You can't force us to do this." Annabeth said, shaking her head. After the two men had come back from their discussion in the hallway, they had broken the news to Annabeth and Percy. Chiron had ordered that they spent time together to 'build a correlation'. Could he even do that?

The director sighed. "If you want to be the leading stars in this movie, you will do as I say. You both are great actors. Separately. But together...you two are not persuasive. I have a vision for this movie; I believe you two can do so much better, given the right circumstances."

"But..._her_? Why?" He whined, glancing at Annabeth.

She turned to him. "What's wrong with me? It's _you_ that can't look me in the eye. You're making this awkward!" Percy scoffed. "Right. Like you ogling my body and blushing every second didn't make it worse."

"You were the one that kept hesitating! Why can't you kiss me?! We're just 'acting'!" She yelled. Percy's eyes darkened. Annabeth thought he would have hit her, but instead he walked forward and kissed her forcefully, pulling her body to his. She didn't want to, but she couldn't help but kiss back.

Once again, she needed to get those stupid cliche girly thoughts under control.

Dionysus coughed, taking a sip from his water bottle. Annabeth pulled back, her face unbearably hot.

"That was better...but still too...forced." He said. He turned to Chiron. "I told you they couldn't do it. You should have gotten older actors with more experience. These are children."

"Wait!" Annabeth yelled. "We can do this. I don't know about Percy, but I'm serious about this job. I will do whatever it takes to make myself better for this role." She stood as far as away as possible from Percy.

"It's not just the kissing scene, Annabeth. Throughout the beginning of the movie, it's a slow build up. When they get to the kissing scene, it has to be real. From that point on you have to act like you love-or at least _like_-each other. I'm not sure you two can handle it."

"Okay, okay. Just give us time. We can make it believable."

Once again, Chiron rubbed his eyes. "A month. Then we start filming. If you two can't make it conceivable, I'm going to have to let you go. Both of you." Annabeth nodded, throat dry. She stiffly stood up, not sure what to think. She silently exited the room, leaning against the wall and closing her eyes.

She could possibly be fired from _the_ movie of the year. Because she couldn't act like she liked Percy enough. Wow.

She heard the door open. Annabeth didn't need to look to know it was Percy. She peeked one eye open. Percy stared at her, his jaw clenched. He shook his head and turned, walking down the hall.

Annabeth pushed off the wall, following him. "Where are you going?"

"Home," He answered simply. "What? But Chiron said-"

"I now what Chiron said. And I'm going home." He went down the stairs. Annabeth sighed. When she got to the lobby, she slowly walked over to Piper and Thalia, who were discussing something animatedly. "Hi," Annabeth said.

"Annie? What's wrong?" Thalia asked. She didn't realize that she looked sad. "Nothing. I just might get dropped from the movie. I guess you were right, Thalia."

"What?" Piper asked. "Not important. Just know that I'll be busy this afternoon, so don't go looking for me." Annabeth walked away before Piper could say anything.

She navigated through the numerous hallways, feeling like she were lost in a labyrinth. Finally she found the exit, where she saw Percy slowly walking down the street to his car. Annabeth ran after him.

Before he could open the door, Annabeth stood between him and the car. They were so close that she could smell hit minty breath. She breathed hard, searching his eyes. "Move," he ordered.

"No." She said. "We need to do something about this, Percy. I'm not letting this movie slip through my fingers because of you. I want this role."

"So do I. What do you want me to do about this, Annabeth? You can't expect me to be fine with kissing my ex in front of the camera and acting like I'm in love with you. It's just not right."

Annabeth felt like he slapped her. She blinked."I'm not moving until you agree to spend time with me." Wow, she sounded like a stalker. "I want this role," She added quickly.

"I'm going home. I don't want to go anywhere with you. I have a girlfriend."

"So? We're making out on camera, not off. And, this isn't a date. Now, you can agree to at least try to spend time with me, or I can march right back into that building and tell Chiron we can't do it."

"Gods, your such a bitch. Get in."

Annabeth finally moved. She walked around to the passenger's seat, but her hand hovered above the door handle. "What are you doing? Get in."

"No." He glared. "What the fuck? You just blackmailed me into spending time with you and now you don't want to go? Stop being so fucking bipolar and get in the car." Annabeth stood her ground.

"We can stay out here and let people record our argument, or you can say sorry." She could see a group of people approaching. They pointed and started running, yelling out Percy and Annabeth's names. "I'm not going anywhere with you being an asshole and treating me like crap. Not again." It was now Percy's turn to stare at her like she had punched him.

His face hardened. "Fine. I'm sorry, your highness," he bowed dramatically. He stood up and glared. "Now get in the damn car."

Annabeth rolled her eyes, knowing he didn't mean it. But she got in the car anyways.

* * *

><p>"What are you reading?" Percy asked. Annabeth wearily glanced up from her book, not sure if he was genuinely curious or he was mocking her. She decided he was genuinely curious.<p>

"Divergent."

"Why?"

"Our movie is based off the book. I want to '_be_' Tris Prior." Percy snorted. "You could learn some things from her. Except not knowing when to shut up. You've already mastered that skill." Annabeth punched him in the arm. "OW! okay, you're not totally different from her. You're smart-"

"Intelligent," She corrected. He nodded. "You're intelligent, selfless, brave peaceful- sometimes-, and you have a tendency to tell the truth. Whether it's needed or not." She stared at him. "Unlike _someone_." She didn't mean to let that slip.

Percy scowled. She somehow always managed to ruin moments. That was the first time he was being nice to her and she had completely ruined it. "Why do you always have to go to the past, Annabeth? I said I'm sorry."

"The past is all I have left, Percy. My future's not looking too great right now. And, thanks to you, my past is jaded too. So, I'm sorry if I'm a little bitter." She turned around in the seat, looking out the window at the passing buildings.

"I'm trying to be professional and put the past behind us. It's only _you_ that's keeping us from continuing our lives."

"Says the one who left!" She yelled. Percy stayed silent. "You were the one who left me. That's easy. But no one that you loved left you! It haunts me, the fact that someone I trusted the most just up and left me and you don't get that."

Percy's eyes hardened and his hands tightened around the steering wheel. His calm face was forced, and Annabeth wondered if that was the right thing to say.

"I didnt-"

"You know what Percy? It's fine. We're supposed to be friends anyways, so that's where we're supposed to start; telling the truth."

* * *

><p><strong>AN:**

**Yes, I am aware that this chapter is super short. Sorry. Those of you who guessed the movie was Divergent: you are correct!**

**And, sorry if I offended anyone with the bipolar thing.**

**I actually finished this chapter two days ago, but I decided it would be too soon to update day after day. Then the story would end too quickly!**

**I just want you all to know that your reviews make my day. Even one word would make me feel awesome. So, thank you everyone who kept reading past the first chapter. Luv ya lots!**

**Rate and review.**

**~ greekfreak302**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: No one is as awesome as Uncle Rick. Including me. Characters belong to him.**

* * *

><p>"What? But that's not fair! These roles were promised to us!" Percy yelled, standing up. His chair toppled over. Percy stole the words right out of her mouth. Although it was probably the worst thing that could've happened, Annabeth couldn't help but smile at how much he sounded like a brat.<p>

Dionysus smiled. "Hollywood isn't fair. Deal with it."

"Chiron, Percy's right. You can't force us to do this." Annabeth said, shaking her head. After the two men had come back from their discussion in the hallway, they had broken the news to Annabeth and Percy. Chiron had ordered that they spent time together to 'build a correlation'. Could he even do that?

The director sighed. "If you want to be the leading stars in this movie, you will do as I say. You both are great actors. Separately. But together...you two are not persuasive. I have a vision for this movie; I believe you two can do so much better, given the right circumstances."

"But..._her_? Why?" He whined, glancing at Annabeth.

She turned to him. "What's wrong with me? It's _you_ that can't look me in the eye. You're making this awkward!" Percy scoffed. "Right. Like you ogling my body and blushing every second didn't make it worse."

"You were the one that kept hesitating! Why can't you kiss me?! We're just 'acting'!" She yelled. Percy's eyes darkened. Annabeth thought he would have hit her, but instead he walked forward and kissed her forcefully, pulling her body to his. She didn't want to, but she couldn't help but kiss back.

Once again, she needed to get those stupid cliche girly thoughts under control.

Dionysus coughed, taking a sip from his water bottle. Annabeth pulled back, her face unbearably hot.

"That was better...but still too...forced." He said. He turned to Chiron. "I told you they couldn't do it. You should have gotten older actors with more experience. These are children."

"Wait!" Annabeth yelled. "We can do this. I don't know about Percy, but I'm serious about this job. I will do whatever it takes to make myself better for this role." She stood as far as away as possible from Percy.

"It's not just the kissing scene, Annabeth. Throughout the beginning of the movie, it's a slow build up. When they get to the kissing scene, it has to be real. From that point on you have to act like you love-or at least _like_-each other. I'm not sure you two can handle it."

"Okay, okay. Just give us time. We can make it believable."

Once again, Chiron rubbed his eyes. "A month. Then we start filming. If you two can't make it conceivable, I'm going to have to let you go. Both of you." Annabeth nodded, throat dry. She stiffly stood up, not sure what to think. She silently exited the room, leaning against the wall and closing her eyes.

She could possibly be fired from _the_ movie of the year. Because she couldn't act like she liked Percy enough. Wow.

She heard the door open. Annabeth didn't need to look to know it was Percy. She peeked one eye open. Percy stared at her, his jaw clenched. He shook his head and turned, walking down the hall.

Annabeth pushed off the wall, following him. "Where are you going?"

"Home," He answered simply. "What? But Chiron said-"

"I now what Chiron said. And I'm going home." He went down the stairs. Annabeth sighed. When she got to the lobby, she slowly walked over to Piper and Thalia, who were discussing something animatedly. "Hi," Annabeth said.

"Annie? What's wrong?" Thalia asked. She didn't realize that she looked sad. "Nothing. I just might get dropped from the movie. I guess you were right, Thalia."

"What?" Piper asked. "Not important. Just know that I'll be busy this afternoon, so don't go looking for me." Annabeth walked away before Piper could say anything.

She navigated through the numerous hallways, feeling like she were lost in a labyrinth. Finally she found the exit, where she saw Percy slowly walking down the street to his car. Annabeth ran after him.

Before he could open the door, Annabeth stood between him and the car. They were so close that she could smell hit minty breath. She breathed hard, searching his eyes. "Move," he ordered.

"No." She said. "We need to do something about this, Percy. I'm not letting this movie slip through my fingers because of you. I want this role."

"So do I. What do you want me to do about this, Annabeth? You can't expect me to be fine with kissing my ex in front of the camera and acting like I'm in love with you. It's just not right."

Annabeth felt like he slapped her. She blinked."I'm not moving until you agree to spend time with me." Wow, she sounded like a stalker. "I want this role," She added quickly.

"I'm going home. I don't want to go anywhere with you. I have a girlfriend."

"So? We're making out on camera, not off. And, this isn't a date. Now, you can agree to at least try to spend time with me, or I can march right back into that building and tell Chiron we can't do it."

"Gods, your such a bitch. Get in."

Annabeth finally moved. She walked around to the passenger's seat, but her hand hovered above the door handle. "What are you doing? Get in."

"No." He glared. "What the fuck? You just blackmailed me into spending time with you and now you don't want to go? Stop being so fucking bipolar and get in the car." Annabeth stood her ground.

"We can stay out here and let people record our argument, or you can say sorry." She could see a group of people approaching. They pointed and started running, yelling out Percy and Annabeth's names. "I'm not going anywhere with you being an asshole and treating me like crap. Not again." It was now Percy's turn to stare at her like she had punched him.

His face hardened. "Fine. I'm sorry, your highness," he bowed dramatically. He stood up and glared. "Now get in the damn car."

Annabeth rolled her eyes, knowing he didn't mean it. But she got in the car anyways.

* * *

><p>"What are you reading?" Percy asked. Annabeth wearily glanced up from her book, not sure if he was genuinely curious or he was mocking her. She decided he was genuinely curious.<p>

"Divergent."

"Why?"

"Our movie is based off the book. I want to '_be_' Tris Prior." Percy snorted. "You could learn some things from her. Except not knowing when to shut up. You've already mastered that skill." Annabeth punched him in the arm. "OW! okay, you're not totally different from her. You're smart-"

"Intelligent," She corrected. He nodded. "You're intelligent, selfless, brave peaceful- sometimes-, and you have a tendency to tell the truth. Whether it's needed or not." She stared at him. "Unlike _someone_." She didn't mean to let that slip.

Percy scowled. She somehow always managed to ruin moments. That was the first time he was being nice to her and she had completely ruined it. "Why do you always have to go to the past, Annabeth? I said I'm sorry."

"The past is all I have left, Percy. My future's not looking too great right now. And, thanks to you, my past is jaded too. So, I'm sorry if I'm a little bitter." She turned around in the seat, looking out the window at the passing buildings.

"I'm trying to be professional and put the past behind us. It's only _you_ that's keeping us from continuing our lives."

"Says the one who left!" She yelled. Percy stayed silent. "You were the one who left me. That's easy. But no one that you loved left you! It haunts me, the fact that someone I trusted the most just up and left me and you don't get that."

Percy's eyes hardened and his hands tightened around the steering wheel. His calm face was forced, and Annabeth wondered if that was the right thing to say.

"I didnt-"

"You know what Percy? It's fine. We're supposed to be friends anyways, so that's where we're supposed to start; telling the truth."

* * *

><p><strong>AN:**

**Yes, I am aware that this chapter is super short. Sorry. Those of you who guessed the movie was Divergent: you are correct!**

**And, sorry if I offended anyone with the bipolar thing.**

**I actually finished this chapter two days ago, but I decided it would be too soon to update day after day. Then the story would end too quickly!**

**I just want you all to know that your reviews make my day. Even one word would make me feel awesome. So, thank you everyone who kept reading past the first chapter. Luv ya lots!**

**Rate and review.**

**~ greekfreak302**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: No one is as awesome as Uncle Rick. Including me. Characters belong to him.**

* * *

><p>"Where do you want to go?" Percy asked.<p>

Annabeth shrugged. "I thought you said you were going home." Percy glanced over at her. "There's nothing fun about my apartment. Where do you-"

"I thought you lived in a mansion. Doesn't every rich person live in a huge mansion?" She wondered aloud. Percy laughed. "No, not really. I mean, yeah, I own a mansion, but I don't live in it." Annabeth knitted her eyebrows. "Then why do you own a mansion if you're not going to live in it?"

"For parties." He said simply. Annabeth nodded, though it didn't really make much sense to her. He glanced over at her again. She had refused to look at him throughout the whole car ride. "Still mad?"

Annabeth stared at him. "I'm not mad. Why would you think that?"

"You were just-"

"I don't know what you're talking about Percy. I'm not mad." Her tone made it clear that she was done talking about it. He opened his mouth. "Let's go to Starbucks," she interrupted.

"Which one?"

"The one in Barnes and Nobles." Percy groaned. "Isn't that a _bookstore_?" Annabeth raised an eyebrow. "Your point? You asked where I wanted to go."

"Ah, yes, I forgot what a huge dork you are." Annabeth shoved him and he just laughed. "Watch it, Annie, I'm driving!" Annabeth rolled her eyes, laughing too. "You didn't say that when you were texting and driving." she shoved him again.

"Are you trying to commit suicide?"

"Please. If I wanted to kill myself I would climb up our ego and jump down your IQ level." Percy laughed. "That's harsh, Wise Girl." Annabeth realized it was the first time in a long time that he had used the name Wise Girl.

I made her stomach churn in an uncomfortable way. It was nice, but to her it felt as if he was trying to bring back something that had been dead long ago. Either way, they had given each other the nicknames when they were 12 years old; she wasn't ready to let it go no matter how forced it seemed.

Following the small uncomfortable silence, she turned and gave him a smile the was partially forced.

"Deal with it, Seaweed Brain." Her smile widened and he glanced at her, reluctantly returning the smile.

* * *

><p>"Annabeth!" Percy whined. Annabeth continued reading her book, turning and ignoring Percy. He poked her. She swatted his hand. He continued poking her, groaning and calling out her name.<p>

Finally Annabeth glanced up, a murderous look oh her face. "What, Percy?" He grinned like a little kid. "I'm bored." She sighed, setting her book next to her on the floor. "Are you five, Percy?"

He rolled his eyes. "Of course not. I'm just bored out of my mind." Annabeth picked up her book again, waving him off. "Go read a book or something." He kneeled behind her, staring hard at her book. "What are you doing?" She laughed.

"You know I'm dyslexic, Annabeth. And, aren't we supposed to be 'finding chemistry'? What the hell does that mean, anyways?"

"It means, we're supposed to persuade Chiron we're capable of being love interests. In the movie. And we're supposed to...make out realistically, I guess." Annabeth's face flushed. Percy laughed. "And you say I'm acting like a little kid. You can't kiss me without blushing. You can't even act out that scene without stuttering like a schoolgirl."

"I do not!" Percy gave her a lopsided smile. "Yes you do."

Annabeth turned her body and sat cross legged in front of him. He did the same. "I think what Chiron means about chemistry is that we... need to be comfortable with each other."

"Seriously? I thought he knew that we..."

"We what? Are you finally going to say it out loud?" she challenged. Percy looked away. "Exactly. I didn't say anything about it, and I know you don't have the balls to tell anyone, so he wouldn't know. And I'm not telling anyone either."

"That interview...how did Tammi know?" Annabeth felt her face grow void of emotion. So he did see it. "Honestly...I don't know. She probably pulled the theory out of thin air and stuck to it after she confronted me, now that she had 'evidence'. But she said she's trying to create drama."

"Drama? Between who?"

"She thinks I still love you. And your taken, so...a love triangle."

"But you don't love me anymore. We both moved on, right?" Percy asked. Annabeth glanced away, then returned her gaze to Percy. She hesitated, but he didn't seem to notice. "Right," She finally agreed, smiling reassuringly.

Moving on was a strong thing to say. Maybe too strong in her case. She had certainly dropped the idea of getting back with Percy a long time ago, but that didn't mean she stopped harboring feelings for him. Sure, they had dulled significantly since she realized what _love_ was, but they were still day, bitter feelings biting her in the ass and somewhat preventing her from _'moving on_'.

"Exactly. So what drama is there to create?"

"Well, I know 70% of our fans will probably be on the 'Percabeth' wagon after the movie, so there's that." Percy bit his lip. He looked like he wanted to say something. Instead he shook his head, deciding against it.

He grinned at her. "So... What have I missed the past two years?"

So now Percy was acting like they were friends, after harshly reminding her several times they weren't. Annabeth didn't get it. One minute he'd be a complete asshole, and now it was like she was staring at a completely different person. It almost reminded her of how he was in high school, with her following him around like a wounded puppy every time he'd snap at her.

She shuddered at the thought. Never again would she be anyone's secret. She simply had too much pride to allow herself to be stepped all over like a ratty doormat.

"I don't get you, Percy Jackson. One minute you're a total dickhead, and now you're...yourself?" Oops. Although she didn't necessarily mean to say it out loud, she didn't regret her words. Percy's face darkened, but he quickly covered it up with a smile.

"I've changed, Wise Girl. So have you."

Annabeth blinked. "What? No I haven't." she stubbornly stuck out her lip.

"Yes you have."

"How?" Percy shook his head. "That is for you to find out. I can't tell you what's changed about yourself. That's your job." Seriously, has Percy ever been this wise? It's her job to give advice, not his. It's in her nickname, for the god's sake!

It was late, and the store was most likely closing soon. That would probably explain why one of the employees, a stout woman with a permanent scowl, started vacuuming around them while simultaneously giving Percy and Annabeth dirty looks.

Anabeth took that as their cue to go away. "You know what? You should buy me coffee." She stood up and dusted off her clothes, gently returning the book where she found it. Percy watched her every move, and just like that, the tension seemed to slip away as if the woman with the vacuum sucked it up from the awkward atmosphere.

"Why?" Percy whined. She held out her hand to him, and he grabbed it, standing up.

"We're on a not-date. That's what people do. They bond over coffee." Percy stared at her skeptically. "You don't have any money on you, don't you?"

Annabeth grinned. "Not a dime."

* * *

><p>"Y-you're-"<p>

"Yes, I'm Percy Jackson. Please don't-" Percy interrupted.

"You're Annabeth Chase!" The cashier guy completely ignored Percy, staring at Annabeth. Annabeth placed a hand on her mouth to smother her laughter. Percy glared at her, his slightly incredulous expression saying 'you think this is funny?'

"I am a huge fan!" Annabeth smiled politely at the guy, whose baby looking face was tinted with acne. She checked the teenager's name tag. "Thank you, Jordan. Um, can we order?"

"Huh- oh! Of course. On the house."

Before Annabeth could order, Percy stepped forward and started ordering. "One large decaf and a medium black coffee with half a cup of milk with two sugars for Annabeth." Jordan nodded and disappeared in the back. Annabeth turned to Percy. "What the hell was that?"

"What?"

"Ordering for me. I have my own mouth you know." She crossed her arms over her chest.

"Gee, no 'thanks Percy'? And here I am thinking you'd be happy I remembered." She huffed. "Thanks," She mumbled. He smiled.

When they finally got their drinks, Annabeth saw that Jordan was still staring at her. When Annabeth looked down at her drink, he saw that it had a number written where her name should be. When she turned around, Jordan winked at her.

Percy glared at the cashier. "Is someone jealous?" She teased. The cashier's ridiculous over-confidence mashed with his straight-forwardness flattered her, but it wasn't as if she'd run into his arms and get hitched. Percy's protectiveness was grating on her nerves, but she did find it funny enough to tease him.

"What? No. I have no one to be jealous of. I just don't like the way he's staring at you." She patted his shoulder. "That's jealousy."

* * *

><p>"What kind of name is Jordan? Isn't that a girl name?" Percy asked. Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Are you still on that? I think it's kind of funny, really."<p>

"No it's not."

"Oh really? Were you flirted with? I don't think so. I'm just too irresistible." She flipped the bundle of curls over her shoulder dramatically, smiling broadly.

Percy laughed. They were silent for a moment. Within a second the atmosphere between them seemed to change. Annabeth just didn't know what to say to cut through the thick layer of awkwardness. She couldn't just talk to him about normal things; he made it very clear they weren't friends. Though, the time they spent here reminded Annabeth of when they really _were_ best friends, before feelings got involved and complicated things.

"What happened to college? I thought you were-"

"Nothing happened to college," She interrupted quickly. Percy stared at her curiously, though he seemed to understand why she didn't want to talk about it. But that couldn't be possible, right? She didn't tell anyone besides Thalia and Piper.

She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, biting her lip in irritation as he continued to talk. "I remember you going on and on about what you wanted to do in life. I can assure you that this wasn't it. And that interview-"

"Enough about the interview!" She snapped, her hand tightening around the coffee. Some people turned and stared. Some pointed, realizing who they were. She put her hood on and Percy slipped on his shades and ducked his head. She nearly laughed at how it was almost a second nature for every celebrity to hide automatically.

Annabeth leaned in and lowered her voice. "She twisted my words. Whatever the hell you heard was wrong."

Percy's face fell and he nodded. She took a sip of her scalding coffee, somewhat liking the way it burned her tongue. "What about you? Word on the street is that you and Kelli are an item."

He seemed surprised, and soon the morphed into an uncomfortable recognition. "Um, yeah. We are." Annabeth forced a smile. "I'm happy for you then."

Annabeth's phone vibrated. She picked it up, checking the message.

_From: Thalia_

_Where the hell are you? It's 11 pm! You have things to do in the morning. You better get your ass here soon_

Annabeth quickly texted Thalia back.

**To: Thalia**

**Relax. I'm with Percy. I'll be back soon.**

She set her phone on silent and slipped it into her pocket. "Um...Wise Girl? I think we should leave before we get trampled." Annabeth finally looked around. She realized that there were twice as many people than there was before. They were all staring at Percy and Annabeth, cameras, phones, and paper ready.

"Shit." Annabeth said.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:**

**Hello. I am very sorry for my updating times. **

**35 reviews! Thank you all!**

**P.S. I'm sorry for any Jordan's that I offended.**

**I think this chapter was very weird, considering last chapter they were fighting and now they're friends. It's a roller coaster of feelings, basically. ^-^**

**AnnabethGranger712199: I'm sorry if you feel that way, but I kind of agree with you. Annabeth is getting kind of annoying with the weakness. So, I'll try to make her tougher. She's not going to go around crying about all her issues, but she might get teary-eyed at somethings that hit too close to home.**

**IamElizaBennett and AncientTide: Percy's being an asshole for a reason. You'll find out why soon. I hope. Keep reading to find out!**

**My chapters are getting shorter and I don't know why...I'll figure it out. I just hope it's satisfactory.**

**Rate and Review**

**~Greekfreak302**


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: No one is as awesome as Uncle Rick. Including me. Characters belong to him.**

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><p>"You live here?" Percy asked.<p>

Annabeth ducked her head in embarrassment. She didn't want Percy to see her neighborhood. It was kind of humiliating, to have people see the partial slum she called home. But she never showed anything but confidence walking around these streets, and everyone seemed to leave her alone because of it. "Uh, yeah. Not a fancy mansion or a posh condo, but a cheap apartment. I'm living the life," she joked. Percy didn't laugh.

"You seriously can't be living here. This place is a dump!" Annabeth glared at him. But there was no judgment in his tone. Actually, he seemed kind of concerned. '_Why would he be concerned where you live? Why does he even care?_' she asked herself. '_Right. He doesn't._' It was kind of sad that she had to remind herself.

"What about the people? You could get robbed. Or worse, ra-"

Sure, it wasn't the best of neighborhoods, but she could take care of herself. "I'm a big girl, Percy. I don't need a body guard to protect me. And as for the mess...I don't live in the street, so it doesn't bother me. I don't spend much time in my house anyways. I barely see this neighborhood." She interrupted. Annabeth grabbed the door handle. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to get into my apartment quickly before I get _raped_." She mocked.

Before Annabeth could leave, he grabbed her wrist. "What are you doing? Let go!"

"I'm walking you up." Percy said.

"What? No. I just told you I don't need a body guard. I can take care of myself." Percy already got out of the car. "Too late. I'm walking you up. That guy is staring at you like you're a piece of meat." He subtly tilted his head to the left. Some pot-bellied guy in his late forties stared at her, licking his lips. She knew him, or at least knew _of_ him. He wasn't dangerous; just a drunkard that used to be a pharmacist or something.

"So? I deal with this everyday."

"Gods, Annabeth, why do you have to be so damn stubborn? Why can't you accept my help just once?" She narrowed her eyes. '_Why do you think I need your help after 2 years? Who the hell do you think you are?_' she thought angrily.

She glared, but nodded anyways. She wanted to go upstairs, and it was obvious Percy wasn't going to let her go up alone. "Lead the way," He said. But Annabeth was already across the street, opening the door to her apartment building that smelled like smoke. "Shut up and walk faster."

Percy stared at the door to her apartment awkwardly. "So, I guess you're here."

"Yeah. What're we supposed to tell Chiron? Tomorrow- today, I guess- we're supposed to go in the studio for a photo shoot."

Percy shrugged. "We wing it." Annabeth rolled her eyes. A typical answer coming from bold, Annabeth stepped forward and pecked him on the lips. He blinked at her, face flushing. "Wh-what was that for?"

"I was just testing something." Annabeth unlocked the door. She stepped into her apartment. "Still awkward."

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><p>"Should we tell her?"<p>

"She's going to have to find out sooner or later." Annabeth sat up, rubbing her eyes. She looked around, seeing that her bedroom was empty of the annoyingly loud people who had woken her up. The voices were coming from outside the room.

"Well I'm not telling her." It was Piper's voice.

"Gwen, you should do it. It's your job." Thalia. Annabeth stood up and stretched, yawning. Silently she made her way to her door, opening it. Gwen, Piper, and Thalia were all sitting on the couch, staring at something in Gwen's hands. They all wore matching expressions: worry.

Piper stood up, smiling. "Morning. Coffee?"

Annabeth nodded slowly. "Yeah. What were you all talking about?"

"Nothing," Gwen lied. She flipped her hair over her shoulder in onr fluid motion, smiling coolly. Annabeth pointed at her. "That's how I know you're lying through your teeth. You never would ruin a perfect hairstyle." Annabeth pointed to all of them. "What are you hiding from me?"

They all exchanged a look. Slowly, Gwen stood up and walked over to Annabeth, showing her the Ipad. "Please don't freak out, Annie." Gwen said. Annabeth nodded slowly, wondering why they're acting so weird. She started the video.

_"Hello my wonderful viewers_." It was Tammi. Annabeth sat on the couch, sensing what she's about to hear she wouldn't like. _"Boy, do we have some juicy gossip for you today! But first, I think I'll start with the latest news: Actor and singer Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase were spotted together last night at a local bookstore. On a date!"_

On a screen next to Tammi, a picture popped up of Percy and Annabeth sitting cross-legged across each other, smiling. "S_ources inform us that they overheard some of their conversation. Are you_ _ready?"_ Tammi leaned in and the camera panned in on her face.

_Apparently, the two are doing a movie together with _the_ Chiron Cenaur. And guess what? They're love interests! But that's not even the best part. Our source has confirmed that Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase used to date! Scandalous, if you ask me._

"Non on asked you," Annabeth mumbled to herself. The words that was said from the she-devil's mouth finally seemed to sink in, and her stomach dropped. She stared at the wall in horror as Tammi droned on and on about 'Percabeth'. She looked back down at the screen, stunned. "_You've heard it here first. I guess now Percabeth isn't so one sided? Will there be a love triangle? Percy Jackson lo-"_

Annabeth threw the Ipad, enraged. "What the hell! How does she even know this?!" She demanded, pointing to the three women who she trusted wit her life. They couldn't have said something, right? Gwen was known for her inability to attain secrets, the reason why she'd made such a great publicist. She immediately dismissed the suspicious thoughts; as she said before, she trusted them with her life. They wouldn't have said anything to Tammi intentionally.

Piper put a hand on Annabeth's shoulder. "I'm sorry." Thalia walked up to Annabeth, shaking her head. "This is why I told you being seen with my cousin only creates drama. I knew this would happen. Now everyone either hates you for stealing Percy, or loves the idea of Percabeth."

Thalia picked up the cracked Ipad and showed Annabeth the comments. Majority of them said they hated Annabeth for stealing their man, or going so far as to saying they wanted to kill her.

Annabeth sat back down on the couch, running her hands through her hair. "Shit, Thalia. What did I get myself into?"

* * *

><p>PERCY'S POV<p>

"Grover, I'm telling you-"

Percy's phone rang. His manager rolled his eyes, but gestured to take the call anyways. He was used to their friendship being interrupted by business. Sometimes it made him feel guilty, wanting to make it up to his long-time friend, but he didn't know how.

Percy grinned and grabbed his phone. "Hel-"

"Check your email."

"Annabeth? What? Which one? Why?" His eyebrows knitted and Grover looked up from the pool table, an eyebrow raised as a silent question. Percy waved his hand dismissively, and stood to get his laptop on the other side of the room.

"Just fucking check your email!" He didn't know what he did, but Annabeth seemed pissed. He knew better than to just write her off as angry with him; whatever it was that was bothering her, it was probably stressing her out. "What's wron-"

"I don't need you to ask me what's wrong, I need you to check your email. Just do it, Percy." She sounded urgent, desperate, even.

"Did I-" The line went dead. "Annabeth? Annabeth?" Percy hung up. Grover, who was still lounging on the couch, laughed. "What's you do to precious Annabeth this time, dude?" Percy stuck his tongue out at Grover. "I don't even know what her problem is. One minute she acts like she doesn't completely hate me and the next she's acting like a moody..." he paused whatever he was going to say. Annabeth wasn't a bitch. No matter how she was acting or what her problem was, it wasn't okay to call her names.

Before he could even open his email, a video popped up. He clicked on it.

"Shit."

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><p><strong>AN:**

**I am aware this Percy chapter sucked, but I didn't want to reveal anything yet. The next Percy chapter you will start to get answers. Most likely.**

**Seaweed and Wise: You're guess is partially correct. I can't tell you more than that.**

**Review!**

**~Greekfreak302**


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: No one is as awesome as Uncle Rick. Including me. Characters belong to him.**

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><p><em>**** continued flashback******<em>

_Annabeth stared at the two, biting her lip trying to keep herself from saying something she'd regret. When Percy invited her to lunch, she thought that they were going to eat in the library like the usually did._

_On their way to the library, they had seen Rachel sitting in the hall outside of the cafeteria by herself, her tray in her lap. Annabeth couldn't say no to his pleading face. So she agreed to let the new girl sit with them._

_And now Annabeth sat in the cafeteria, nothing to do but watch Percy and Rachel get to know each other better. She crossed her arms. Why should Annabeth care? Percy can like whomever he wants. She's not his mother nor his girlfriend._

_Annabeth could never compete with Rachel anyways. No wonder why Percy gave his attention to her. Long fiery red hair cascaded down her back in an abundance of unruly curls. Her flawless ivory skin seemed to be glowing, along with her emerald-green eyes. All in all, she looked like an exotic model._

_But does he like her? Love her? They might as well go to prom together and get married! Annabeth took a deep breath. '_You're being ridiculous_,' she told herself. '_Percy would never-_'_

_Percy nudged her. Annabeth blinked, uncrossing her arms. "What's wrong?" he asked. Annabeth shrugged off his hand on her arm. "Nothing," she muttered. "Why don't you go back and get cozy with your girlfriend?"_

_Percy grabbed her arm and stood up, forcing Annabeth to follow him out of the cafeteria._

_"What is your problem?" He demanded. Annabeth shrugged. "I dunno. You shouldn't be wasting time with me, your best friend. No, you should go back and keep Rachel company. It's okay, really. I never mattered anyway."_

_"What the hell are you talking about?" He asked. Annabeth narrowed her eyes. "Don't play dumb, Percy Jackson. You guys are going to the end of the year campfire together." Annabeth tried to sound nonchalant. This fact has been bothering her all week, mainly the reason why she'd confronted Percy. She was not married to Percy. Percy did not belong to her. Then why did it hurt more than it should?_

_"What? H-how did you know that?" he seemed genuinely confused. Annabeth took this as a sign that it was true. He wouldn't look in her eyes. "Huh. So you do like her?"_

_"Why do you care?" His tone was harsh. "You know, I thought you just were jealous of Rachel jeopardizing our friendship. But it isn't that, is it?" Annabeth's face flushed, realizing where he was going with the conversation._

_"Percy, I-"_

_"You really like me, don't you?" he interrupted. Annabeth glared. "Do not flatter yourself. Please just tell me this: do you really like her?"_

_Percy hesitated, then nodded. "I don't see why I can't get to know her." He shuffled his feet, avoiding her eyes. Annabeth forced herself to nod. "O-okay. I just hope you two have a great time, Percy." Annabeth turned and walked away, her gait stiff and frantic._

_She really wasn't being fair to Percy. Annabeth made him tell the truth and now she's mad? She wouldn't be surprised if Percy hated her right now._

_****End of flashback****_

Annabeth remembered it like it was yesterday. That was the first-and last- time Annabeth confronted him about his love life. After that day she just decided it was best that she stop meddling. Sure, Percy and Rachel had gone out a full 5 months after that, but that's when Annabeth realized Percy made his own decisions and could like who he wanted to like.

Sure, Annabeth was ecstatic when Percy said he loved her, but that's a story for another day.

"-alright, Annabeth? Annabeth?" Hazel was shaking her shoulders.

Annabeth blinked, realizing that Hazel was talking. "Huh? What happened?" Hazel sighed in relief. "You blacked out. But, um, they said it was your turn." Hazel pointed to the corner where Tammi and her camera crew were waiting. She swallowed hard and stood up.

"Good luck," Hazel whispered. Annabeth nodded and slowly walked over to the couch where Tammi was lounging, typing something on her phone. When she saw Annabeth approach, Tammi waved her over, forcefully sitting her down on the sofa.

"Long time no see, Annie." Annabeth forced herself to stay calm and not yell at Tammi in front of the camera.

"Hi, Tammi."

"I've gotten word that you're going to be releasing a new album soon. While you're working on this movie project, right?" Annabeth nodded. "Yeah. It's going to be called-"

Tammi laughed. "Right. I don't really care, and I'm sure our viewers would be bored hearing about your music." Annabeth's mouth hung open and Tammi laughed once again, patting Annabeth on the back. She felt Tammi's claws for nails dig into her back. If Annabeth didn't know that this girl hated her, she would have guessed that Tammi was actually likable. She couldn't even imagine what the viewers would think of Annabeth and Tammi as. Best friends? Annabeth shuddered at the thought.

Tammi stopped laughing and leaned on her hand, staring at Annabeth seriously. "The rumors are confirmed true about you and Mr. Jackson. How do you feel about that?"

"Uh...shouldn't this interview be about the movie?"

"I won't tell if you don't." The blonde haired bitch winked. "I'm sure everyone knows about possible Percabeth. Maybe everyone except...you two?" She stared at Percy , a sinful smile on her face.

"What? I-we- Percy and I are not dating. Yes, this movie we are co-stars who will be...in contact with each other a lot, but nothing more than that. Percy and I are friends. Best friends, actually," she lied easily.

Tammi seemed unconvinced. "Well, that's good, I guess. While you and Percy were caught on your supposed 'date', Kelli Empsai reported to the press that she and Percy were officially dating. How do you feel about that, Annie?"

Annabeth stayed silent, staring at Percy from across the set. Although he was talking to Mr. D, he stared back at her, all the confirmation she needed. Annabeth peeled her eyes away from him, turning back to he camera. "It doesn't really bother me as much as you think, Tammi. I'm sure most of you are on the 'Percabeth' ship, but that ship has sunken a long time ago. I do not have feelings for Percy, and I'm sure he feels the same way. So I hope he's happy with Kelli." Annabeth stood up, not waiting for Tammi to continue asking questions.

* * *

><p>"Does this mean you're not firing us?" Percy asked. Chiron laughed, handing Percy and Annabeth their script changes. "Would I be giving you the script changes if you were fired?"<p>

"What changed your mind?" Annabeth asked. This morning Chiron had called another urgent meeting between Percy and Annabeth. But this time he had personally called them. Annabeth didn't know about Percy's call, but over the phone Chiron sounded angry.

"Well, for one thing, I'm sure all of your fans combined will hunt me down and kill me. One of the many reasons I didn't want this project exposed just yet," He gave them a pointed look. "And two, you both are great actors. I believe it would be wasted talent if I let you go. And no, this isn't about favoritism. Even if you two are my favorite actors to work with."

Annabeth couldn't help but smiling. Jumping and grinning- so unlike the professional Annabeth Chase- she turned and hugged Percy. Surprised, he stumbled and nearly fell down bringing Annabeth with him. She hugged Chiron too, thanking him repeatedly.

Annabeth pulled back. "But," Chiron said, "I do expect you to practice your lines daily."

"You mean..." Percy started. The director nodded. "You two are still awkward. Dionysus and I thought it was because of your history, but that obviously isn't the case. Both of you are restraining yourselves."

"What?"

"You guys are no longer arguing, yet you still can't be believable love interests. While you two can act together, you can't be romantic. Both of you have the roles, but you need to practice or do something to make it believable. We start filming in two weeks."

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><p><strong>AN:**

**Hello. If anyone was wondering, during the flashback Annabeth and Percy were 15. And because I've gotten different opinions, I'll just stick to my normal updating schedule (Every few days).****But I will try longer chapters in shorter periods of time.**

**Just curious: what's your favorite song?**

**I don't really have anything to say in this author's note, so...uh,yeah. Goodbye.**

**Review!  
><strong>

**~greakfreak302**


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: No one is as awesome as Uncle Rick. Including me. Characters belong to him.**

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><p><em>****flashback******<em>

_Annabeth pulled Percy aside. "Do you like her?"_

_"What? What do you mean?" Percy asked. Annabeth hushed him, pulling him under the table. "The new girl. You've been staring. You like her, don't you?" Percy stared at her with puzzlement. "Wha-" realization dawned on his features. "You're jealous. What reason do you have to be jealous, unless..." His eyes brightened at this realization and Annabeth's face flushed. She shook her head furiously, and he laughed as if this was the best news in the world._

_Percy got up and stuck his head out from underneath the table."Annabeth Chase is-hmph!" Annabeth put her hand on his mouth and pulled him back down. "Keep your voice down, Percy. I do not like you. And, ew! Did you lick my hand?"_

_He grinned proudly, showing off a missing tooth in the process. "Yup."_

_Annabeth gave him a disgusted face. "Sometimes it's like I'm best friends with a four year old. Why do I even hang out with you?"_

_"You know you love me too much to leave me, Wise Girl. Don't try to act like you can live without me." He gave her a dazzling smile, reaching over and hugging her. Annabeth blushed, struggling from his grip. _

_When she finally broke free, she hit him over the head. "Ow, Wise girl," he murmured, all previous laughter gone. "You know I was just kidding...?" A__nnabeth pushed her hair from her face, nodding. "Of course," she said softly._

_Did he really know how she felt about him? Was it that obvious?_

_'_Of course it is, stupid,_' She chided herself. '_You don't go around pulling people under tables and demanding why they're getting cozy with the new girl. That gives off red flags.'

_Annabeth engulfed Percy in a bear hug. She nuzzled his neck, breathing in his scent. Okay, yes, it was very weird. But Percy never asked questions. He always went with the flow. Actually, Annabeth's naïve thinking actually deluded her into believing that he actually wanted her too._

_"Promise me you'll never leave me, Seaweed Brain..." Annabeth hugged him tighter. '_For another girl..._' she wanted to add, deciding against saying it. Percy held an arm around her waist loosely, laughing. Soon he stopped, realizing she wasn't kidding. "Oh." He hugged her tighter. "Annabeth, you're my Wise Girl. I'm not planning on going anywhere any time soon."_

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><p><em>"Hurry up!" Annabeth yelled, pounding on the door. She huffed in annoyance. Why did her parents seem to find the need to have five children? All that found the need to hog the bathroom? Sure, the oldest was adopted, one was a mistake, and the youngest was supposed to be one but ended up multiplying in the womb (twins).<em>

_Luke came out seconds later, smiling. He ruffled her hair. "Good morning to you too, Beth." Annabeth glared at him. "Are you done in there?" Luke leaned on the door frame to the bathroom, putting a finger to his chin. "Yes, I am. But, if you want a ride, I think it would be wise to skip your hour-long morning routine."_

_"What? Why?" Annabeth asked. "I'm leaving in fifteen minutes." Luke answered._

_Annabeth was about to ask why again, but instead she stamped her foot and hit his arm. "You're going to meet your girlfriend? But I-"_

_"Sorry, Beth." Luke said as he walked down the hall... Annabeth's mouth hung open. She chased after him."That's not fair!" She was about to follow him into his room when he slammed the door in her face. "Life isn't fair!" he called back. "Sometimes I wish they could just give you back to the orphanage you came from!" She yelled. If this was normal circumstances ( as in, with another brother) she would've regretted her words. But since this was Luke, and he knew his parents abandoned him, he always seemed immune to her biting words about where he came from._

_After a short shower, hastily putting on clothes and brushing her hair, Annabeth got into the car with a minute to spare. Luke smiled at her but she ignored him, sticking her tongue out. "I can't believe you're rushing me to suck face with your girlfriend. I mean, we're already on thin ice with time; picking up your girlfriend will make us late!"_

_Luke started the car, pulling out of the driveway. "Don't think of it that way."_

_"What other way is there to think of it?" Annabeth asked. Luke shrugged, laughing and ruffling her hair. She snapped at him, crossing her arms and leaning back in the seat._

_**at school**_

_"You're late, Ms Chase." Mrs. Kerr didn't even look up from her book. The rest of the class was silent, working on a sheet. They kept sneaking glances at her, speaking in hushed whispers._

_"What? But this is the first period."_

_"Yes, and you missed homeroom and five minutes of my class. Where is your pass?" The middle-aged lady looked up, taking off her glasses. She leaned on her desk, raising an eyebrow as if questioning Annabeth if she'd like to keep arguing. Annabeth sighed. She was not going to let this woman ruin her no-late-days record._

_"I don't have one. But it's not like we're doing anything important today. We're just reviewing for the exam." She was certain of this fact, even thou she had left her schoolbag in her locker yesterday._

_"Today is the exam." Her breath stuttered in her throat._

_Annabeth was totally screwed. "Shit." It had to be a mistake. She distinctly remembered the exam was...today. Oh. She must've forgotten in her rush to get to school. _

_Annabeth eye's caught Percy's. He was leaning back in his seat, grinning. He nodded in approval. Of course he'd approve. He was always telling Annabeth she needed to stop being so uptight. And this, in his book, was a big achievement. _

_Mrs. Kerr walked up to Annabeth. She put a hand on Annabeth's shoulder, a warm gesture, but her cold eyes ruined it. "I'll tell you what. Since you have nothing but disrespect for me and my class, how about you pay the principal a little visit? Sound fun?"_

_Annabeth snorted. "Please. Your stupid forty-minute lectures about Macbeth sound better than having a lunch date with the principal." Annabeth didn't mean to be rude. Today was a seriously off day for her and she didn't know what to do. She had never acted like this before._

_The class 'ooh'ed like a bunch of fifth graders. __Mrs. Kerr scowled._

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><p><em>Annabeth kept re-running the incident with Mrs. Kerr this morning in her head, analyzing what went wrong. Well, except for the fact that she entered class late, cussed, and back-sassed a teacher. And landed herself a lunch-date with the principal.<em>

_She sat on a bench outside of the office with head in her hands. It was only 4 hours into the school day and the didn't seem as if it could get worse. When she first came in, her head down in shame, she sat on the troublemaker's bench on the wall outside of the principal's office. She'd never been to this side of the office. It was as foreign to her as Area 51._

_Well, no, not really. Annabeth's been in this room a thousand times for various reasons. But this was different. She was in trouble._

_"This seat taken?"_

_Annabeth shook her head without looking up, her head in her hands. She heard him sitting next to her. "Can you stop staring at me?" She grumbled, peeking through her fingers. He smiled, pulling her hands away from her face._

_"Relax, Annie. You're acting like the world is ending." To him, getting sent to the office probably wasn't such a big deal. But a detention really could have horrible effects on her record and her chances of going to a pristine college._

_"I got sent to the principal's office! She probably gave me an F on the exam!" She yelled. Percy hushed her. "As long as you don't draw attention to yourself, they don't notice you." Percy was right. Everyone was going about their own business, not even glancing in her direction. But she didn't move a muscle._

_"Trust me. I've been here before."_

_"A lot," Annabeth added. Percy nodded, giving her a look. "I know how it works around here. They just make you sit down and wait the whole day to 'visit the principal'. I'll bet you ten bucks that Mrs. Kerr didn't call the office before she sent you. They're not expecting you."_

_"What do you want, Percy?"_

_He held out his hand, standing up. "Well, I was worried about how you'd be holding up; terrible, in case you're wondering. And it's lunch. You're hungry."_

_"What? I am n-" Her stomach interrupted her sentence, and she smiled. "Okay, maybe a little." She took Percy's hand, forcing her face not to flush._

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><p><strong>AN:**

**My apologies for the short chapter, but the flashback is kind of long. I broke it up again. Sorry. Btw, the flashback continues next chapter.**

**Would you rather longer chapters in a longer period of time, or shorter chapters in a short period of time?**

**review**

**~Greekfreak302**


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: No one is as awesome as Uncle Rick. Including me. Characters belong to him.**

* * *

><p>"What are you waiting for? Get back up! Let's <em>go,<em> people!"

Annabeth panted, laying on the ground, unable to pull herself up. Why had she been so stubborn and insisted on training with the guys? Why couldn't she just be happy with the easy training program they had provided for the girls?

Beckendorf kneelt down to her level. "I bet you five bucks you can't do 500. Oh, but you're looking weak; let's make that 100," He whispered. Annabeth narrowed her eyes and pulled herself up again. "I can handle 500." she murmured, determined. She was not going to let Beckendorf treat her like she was some defenseless girl. Annabeth paused, realizing that challenging her to get her to do more was exactly what he was trying to do. Obviously he was truly a great trainer if he knew exactly what got them motivated.

He stood up and clapped. "Good job, Annabeth." He turned to the rest of the boys in the gym. "You can learn from these girls. Nice job, Hazel." There was a collective groan throughout the gym.

Hazel, who was doing push ups nonstop, paused for a second and flashed an exhausted smile. Hazel was seriously awesome. She'd asked some of the girls on the cast to switch trainers, but Hazel was the only one who agreed. And now the girl was barely breaking a sweat, doing this like she was used to it. This girl never ceased to amaze her.

Annabeth had lost count of how many push ups she'd been doing. But she continued, trying to beat Percy. Their eyes met. He stuck out his tongue, grinning. She rolled her eyes, going faster. She didn't know how many minutes passed, but eventually everyone was watching Percy and Annabeth. Some were stretching, while others were practically inhaling their water. Hazel gave her a thumbs up.

"What are you on, Annabeth?"

She let out a short breath and answered. "1,957."

Percy laughed. "2,025." His face was red, yet he decided to show off and go one handed. She kept going. Annabeth felt a hand on her shoulder. The extra weight made her collapse. She panted and looked up at Beckendorf, who smiled at her and pointed to Percy. That smug bastard had stopped?!

He leaned on a wall, not sweating an inch. Was he even human? "I had to stop. I could never miss an opportunity to let you push yourself for no reason." Percy said, giving her his signature side grin.

Annabeth sat on her legs, feeling dizzy. Beckendorf clapped. "Good job, everyone. Tomorrow is leg day." Once again, everyone groaned. Travis and Connor Stoll ran out of the room first, yelling 'freedom!' down the hall. Of course. The identcial twins were the weakest, the first to quit. Annabeth was truly surprised that Chiron even casted them for a roll. The same role.

Slowly, everyone exited the gym. Hazel gave Annabeth a hug and left. "I'll see you later."

Percy helped Annabeth up. When she got to her feet, she stumbled. He put a hand on her waist, steadying her. "Are you alright?"

"Huh? Yeah, I'm fine." He seemed unconvinced. "We should go get a smoothie," he suggested. Annabeth nodded. She pushed off of him, going and talking to Beckendorf. The trainer was twice the size of Annabeth. Actually, his biceps were easily the size of her head. With his size and the permanent scowl, he was pretty scary. But when you talked to him, he was a total sweetheart.

Beckendorf is/was Percy's personal trainer. Percy had jokingly suggested that Beckendorf be the new trainer for the male actors, but Chiron thought it was a great idea and hired him.

He held out a fifty dollar bill. Annabeth stared at it. "What?" she asked, confused. He put it in her hand. "I told you I'd give you five dollars for every 500 push ups you'd do. You did around 5,000, so here you go." Annabeth stared at it. She smiled. "Thanks."

Percy plucked the bill from her hand. He waved it in Beckendorf's face. "I remember when you used to do this for me. What happened? Now you're giving it to people who clearly don't deserve it?"

"I don't give them to show offs." Beckendorf returned the money to Annabeth. She smiled and stuck her tongue out at Percy.

"Why are you following me?" She asked once she left the gym. Percy innocently smiled. "I don't know what you're talking about. We might actually be happening to going in the same direction."

Annabeth's body felt like it would collapse from exhaustion any second. She trekked down the stairs, not wanting to wait for the elevator. Percy followed behind her, talking about something completely random. Annabeth stumbled. Percy held her arm tightly, putting himself in front of her so she wouldn't fall.

"You okay?"

Annabeth looked down, her vision blurring. She blinked, and it returned to normal. '_Just from lack of sleep. I'm fine_', she said to herself. "Yeah. I'm fine. Are we getting a smoothie or not?" Percy reluctantly let go of her. A smile slowly grew on his face. "I know the perfect place."

* * *

><p>"Ganymede, this is Annabeth. Wise Girl, this is Ganymede." The bartender smiled charmingly at her. Annabeth looked around. This place definitely was not a normal place you'd go to for smoothies. In fact, it was like a nightclub that sold all types of drinks-including smoothies.<p>

Everyone in the room-besides the staff- was a celebrity. Maybe that's why Percy wanted to bring her here. Because there were no paparazzi. But still, among the other people in the room, Annabeth looked like trash. Even Percy, the same man that did the same intensive workout she did, managed to pull it off. His hair was a mess and his clothes were crumpled, perfecting the "just got out of bed look". But Annabeth? She looked like she hadn't taken a shower in ages.

"Why'd you bring me here? I look horrible." Percy shook his head. "You look fine."

"Mighty fine, I might add." Ganymede said, winking. Percy flashed him a warning glare. " Can we order, or not?" Without waiting for an answered, Percy ordered.

Annabeth at on a stool, holding her hand on her forehead and took a deep breath, her heart seeming to slow for a moment or two. "Seriously, are you okay?" Percy asked. Annabeth glared at him. "I'm fine. Just stop asking me the same freaking question over and over again," she snapped. Percy held out his hands. "I'm sorry, Percy. I'm just...tired."

"On the house," Annabeth spun in her chair facing the bar, grabbing the smoothie. This place had to be the absolute most bizarre place to get a smoothie. "Thanks, Ganymede. Um...where's the bathroom?" She asked. Maybe cold water would hep her wake up.

"Up the stairs, second door to the left." She stood up. "And, um...word of advice: don't open the third right door. " She gave Percy a questioning look, but he just shrugged in return.

On her way into the bathroom, she bumped into someone. "Oh, I'm sorr..." The girl stared at her in awe.

Annabeth thought she recognized this girl. Her amber hair was pulled up into a neat ponytail, side bangs sweeping over her left eye. Her forest green eyes shone brightly as she stared at Annabeth. A small tattoo of three flowers went diagonally up her cheekbone, ending besides her right eye. "You're Juniper, right?"

The girl nodded vigorously. Juniper was even newer to the celebrity life than Annabeth. She had been discovered by a few agents a few months ago, yet still seemed to be insanely popular since the beginning.

"You're Annabeth Chase!" She squealed. Annabeth blinked. "Can I get your autograph?"

"Um...okay." It wasn't everyday that a celebrity-especially one that was more famous than you- asks for your autograph. "Hey, are you okay? You're not looking too great. Annabeth?"

Annabeth steadied herself by leaning on a wall. She looked back at Juniper. "You know what, I'll get an autograph later. I'll just get Grover to give you my number."

"You know Grover?"

"Yeah, he's my boyfriend." She answered, smiling. Maybe that's why she seemed so familiar. She left Annabeth in the dark hallway, disappearing down the stairs.

Annabeth leaned on the door frame of the bathroom, hands on her knees. Her headache spread throughout her body, making it difficult to move. She'd had migraines before, but nothing this bad.

Stumbling into the bathroom, she splashed cold water on her face. If she was being honest, the training class had seriously sapped all her energy. She hadn't really slept all night, and she had skipped breakfast and her morning coffee. It wasn't wise of her to push herself to the limit like that. 'I guess this is my consequence,' she thought.

Feeling slightly better, she opened the door. "Annabeth? Are you okay?" She heard Percy call. She knew she's been up here for quite a while, but it was seriously annoying how Percy kept asking if she was okay like she was some weak little girl.

She started down the stairs. Percy sighed in relief when he saw her. "I was beginning to think-"

"I'm fine, Percy," She interrupted. "I just-" she stopped. Her body felt like it was being weighted down by an invisible force. Once again, her vision blurred and almost completely disappeared. She shook her head and took a step, trying to convince herself she was fine.

Her foot slipped and she tumbled down the stairs, her body feeling like a rag doll. Everything went black, her world still. Before she blacked out, she heard Percy repeatedly calling her name.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:**

**Hello faithful viewers and visitors! My updating schedule might be a bit off for the next few weeks. Exams seriously suck.**

**To the reviewers who answered my question: thank you! I will keep those songs in mind. What's your favorite movie? Just so you know, these questions are kind of important. I'd be very appreciative if you answer!**

**One more thing: how do you feel about OCs?**

**Review!**

**~greekfreak302**


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: No one is as awesome as Uncle Rick. Including me. Characters belong to him.**

* * *

><p>Annabeth opened her eyes, looking around. Her head pounded and her body felt weak. She pushed the bag of ice off of her forehead and sat up. She was on some expensive looking white leather couch with a blanket draped over her in an equally expensive looking room.<p>

Percy sat in an arm-chair across from her, biting his lip. His eyes were dark, and the bags under his eyes indicated he didn't sleep in a long time. Several take-out containers littered the floor around him, making her wonder how long he'd sat there. When he realized she was awake, he blinked and smiled. "Hey. You've been out for a while. I was starting to get worried."

"Why didn't you bring me to the hospital?" she asked, pushing off the couch. Her throat was dry, and when she talked, it came out as a scratchy rasp. Percy stood up."Take it easy, Annabeth. You hit your head kinda hard." he easily evaded her question.

"So if I was hurt, why didn't you bring me to the hospital?" she challenged, crossing her arms stubbornly.

"It was only temporary fatigue, Annabeth. And, it was rush hour. I'm sure everyone would be breathing down your neck to see if you were okay. You'd be in the headlines for the next week or two." He sat next to her. Studying his demeanor, she came to the conclusion he was keeping something from her.

"Don't act like you were doing me a favor. What's the real reason you didn't bring me? You didn't want to be seen with me?" She was growing more irate by the second. She didn't understand _why_, though.

"What? No. Why are you getting mad, Annabeth? I was just trying to help." He put a hand on her arm. She recoiled, moving as far away from him as possible. She didn't want him touching her. She was being irrational, she knew that, but something about him was bothering her.

"Bullshit! I didn't ask for your help. What is the real reason you didn't bring me to the hospital?"

"Annabeth, don't give me that 'I don't need help' crap. I know you. If I brought you to the hospital you'd be giving me the third degree for month. And don't even say you wouldn't. You would have said that I thought you were some defenseless girl that always need help. Well guess what? I don't. You can handle your own problems. I don't even know why I helped in the first place." he snapped, his eyes narrowing dangerously.

Annabeth stayed silent, pulling her legs on the couch and crossing them. Percy sighed. "Look, I didn't bring you here to argue."

"I know you're trying to help, Percy. You're always..._trying_. So...thanks, I guess." She really was being ungrateful. The situation could have been way worse. Without thinking, she rushed forward and hugged him. Percy blinked. "Annabeth?"

She buried her face in the crook of his neck. "I...I'm glad you're back in my life."

* * *

><p><strong>PERCY'S POV<strong>

Well, for starters, he thought Annabeth was dead.

Seriously. His heart literally stopped when he saw her hit her head on the ground and her eyes roll to the back of her head. Ganymede had helped him bring her to a room upstairs. And then he had seen the blood. It was probably just a small puddle, but in his head it was a steadily growing river of red.

In all honesty, that had to be the worst night of his life. He thought she would have died. What would he do without her? She was his world. Those years they were apart were hell for him.

Percy buried his face in his hands. Since when did he quote teeny-bopper romance novels? What the hell? Since when did he _read_ romance novels?

"Percy, relax. She's gong to be fine. I called a friend. He should be here soon." Ganymede said. Percy looked up from his hands. They had made a makeshift bed for Annabeth out of a table and a few old blankets. Her hair was turning darker red by the minute.

When his friend came- who claimed he was trained in medics- they were shooed out of the room. The guy had told them that she might have split the side of her head on a rusty nail. That didn't make Percy feel any better.

Percy sat on the floor across the hall, staring at the door as if expecting Annabeth would come out soon, feeling better.

"You really love her, don't you?"

Percy blinked. "What? No. I- we're not..." he sighed. "It's complicated." Ganymede laughed. "I can see that. She's obviously trying to compress feelings herself. Why not just go for it?"

"I can't just go for it because she- wait, what? Annabeth doesn't like me." He couldn't allow himself to think like that. He was the one that ended things between them. He was sure Annabeth hated him, which explained her changing moods. He couldn't get false hope. It would just crush him. Like what he did to Annabeth.

"You're right. She loves you. Did something happen between you two?"

He avoided Ganymede's light eyes. Ganymede studied him carefully. "So something _did_ happen. Let me guess: you were being an asshole, broke her heart, now you regret what you did and think she hates you?"

Percy's mouth opened in shock. "Wha-how did you know?"

Ganymede laughed. "Please. I know desire when I see it. And you two have so much sexual tension you might as well be eye-raping her." Percy's face flushed. "This is not a time to be talking about my love life. My love life might be non-existent right now."

The bartender punched him playfully. "Now you and I both know that isn't true. Don't you have a girlfriend?"

Percy buried his face in his arms, groaning. "She's not my...we don't- ugh. Kelli is just for show. She is not and never will be my girlfriend. She's a total bitch. We both agreed to 'date' each other for publicity. Nothing more."

Ganymede smirked. "That's not what she's telling the press."

"She thinks- wait, why am I telling you this? You're a bartender."

Ganymede pretended to be offended. "And are you not a regular here? I thought we were friends, Percy. Did you know that bartender are unlicensed therapists? Even if customers are usually drunk, that doesn't stop them from venting, does it? You can tell me anything. Bartender-customer confidentiality."

Percy smiled. Remembering where he was and what had happened, his smiled slowly faded. "Dude, I appreciate you trying to get my mind of the situation, but I need to know if he's okay."

"If she dies, you should clear your conscience and admit to why you hurt her. If she doesn't die...it's still not a bad idea to tell the truth."

* * *

><p>And now, five days later, here he was, still staring a her while she slept. Or, at least, he hoped she was sleeping.<p>

She had to be sleeping. Don't dead people start to smell after a while? He hit himself in the head. Why was he thinking like this? Annabeth is going to wake up.

Several times she had stirred in her sleep, and once or twice she actually did wake up; her confused and panicked grey eyes opened, looked around, but he had soothed her back to sleep.

He stilled when he saw movement across the living room. Annabeth was stirring. He felt like a creeper, staring at her. Every minute of everyday he's been watching her, hoping she'd wake up. Maybe he should move before she woke up and saw him staring at her.

Too late. Before he could move, Annabeth's eyes opened and she looked around, slightly dazed. When she saw him, her eyebrows knitted and she sat up.

"Hey, you've been out for a while. I was starting to get worried." Saying he was worried was a huge understatement. He had to restrain himself from rushing forward and kissing her. Even if he couldn't admit how the days without her were hell, he was still glad she was awake.

Forget what Ganymede said. Annabeth didn't love him. She couldn't. He didn't love her either. No, not in a romantic way. It was a brother-sister type of love. The past days have been hell because he was worried that he'd lose yet another important person in his life. Yeah. In no way did he love Annabeth Chase. He can't love.

'I don't love Annabeth,' he convinced himself.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:**

**I know I promised a flashback/explanation for Percy's POV, but I decided to just explain things. Next chapter maybe. I hope I did well. I kind of wanted to show both of their point of views for this chapter ( I don't know why) and I also wanted to fill you in on what happened when Annabeth was unconscious.**

**Annabeth's mad because he know's Percy's keeping the truth from her. Which is kind of why she was getting annoyed with him. And Percy doesn't want to tell her how bad she was really hurt.**

**Please don't kill me for how I ended that chapter! Everything will be explained. *HINT* look closely at Percy's thoughts at the end. If you get that then you pretty much know why Percy was being such an asshole**

**I don't really think I have anything else to say, so...keep reading.**

**Review!**

**~greekfreak302**


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: No one is as awesome as Uncle Rick. Including me. Characters belong to him.**

* * *

><p>*****<strong>flashback (still Percy's POV) <strong>*****

_She's not answering. Shit, why isn't she answering? He forced himself to stare at the road and stop fidgeting._

_Sure, they'd gone out before, but they'd never 'gone out'. Like, on a date. He knew Annabeth hated the 'exclusive' thing, but he appreciated her keeping them a secret. It just showed what she was willing to do for him. Not that this was all a cruel test. No. He really loved cared for Annabeth, but his father thought it best his relations with Annabeth was kept private. _

_Which is why he always felt like crap whenever she wanted to go out and he'd shoot her down. Sure, they'd gone to a fast-food restaurant or something with friends, but it was never serious. He could tell Annabeth was fed up._

_Mainly the reason why he'd asked her out. BUT SHE'S NOT FREAKING ANSWERING!_

_His knuckles gripped the steering wheel, turning white. He needed to relax. Maybe she was just wondering why he had suddenly asked her out. Yeah, maybe. Annabeth did like to read in between the lines a lot. He always had to consider his words around her._

_It had taken him all day to work up the nerve to ask her out and now he was left hanging. Maybe she was reconsidering being with Percy at all, not wanting anything to do with him. For what?! Asking her out?!_

_"I don't know." Her voice cut through the panic in his head. When he realized what she'd said, his heart wrenched. I don't know is a clear sign that she's not interested, right?_

_Wait. Of course she's interested. Annabeth Chase is his girlfriend. _His girlfriend_. But he still needed confirmation that Annabeth wasn't done with him. He knew she was starting to get skeptical._

_He forced himself to act as if her response had no impact on him. "It's not a hard question. Yes or no?" Without hesitation, she answered. "Yes."_

_Happiness surged through him. He tried to remain calm, but he couldn't help but smile at her. She bit her lip, forcing back a smile, but her eyes shone brightly. She opened her mouth to say something, but instead her eyes flicked over to something in front of him. "Percy! The road!"_

_He quickly turned back, swerving back into the right lane, narrowly avoiding a massive truck heading their way. Annabeth had that affect on him; making him completely blindsided from the rest of the world. His hand snaked into hers, holding tightly and never letting go the whole ride back to her house._

* * *

><p><em>*some time later**<em>

_"Dad! Guess what! I-" Percy stopped, looking around. There was no one else in the small hotel room. When he checked, only his small suitcase was left in the closet. Percy ran his hands through his hair._

_"No big deal, right? Dad might just be out or something. He's coming back," He said to himself. '_With all his stuff? C'mon, Perce; you're not that stupid.' _he said to himself._

_His mother knew this would happen. But, no, Percy just had to disagree and say that Poseidon will actually act like a father for once. Sally and Percy had just gotten kicked out of their own apartment by Gabe, an abusive lazy bastard whom Sally was married to. She tried to get rid of him and it backfired in their face, so now they were in a nasty court battle. She thought a seventeen year old boy shouldn't be homeless while simultaneously going through all of this, so she decided it was best he stayed with his father so she could sort things out. _

_Poseidon Olympia was an entrepreneur and oceanographer, traveling all over for 'business' purposes. Sally and he always knew that was an excuse for not being a father to Percy and who knew how many other children._

_And for some reason, Poseidon thought it would be a good idea for Percy to stay with him while he was in town. Something about "bonding" he claimed._

_Yeah, some bonding. Most of the time Poseidon would be out at a bar or gods knows where, while Percy waited for him. But recently, he gave up trying. He and his dad will just never be as close as he was with his mother._

_Searching the rooms again, he saw that there was no trace of Poseidon, or any signs that he'd been here. Typical._

_He considered calling Annabeth. Her dad might let him stay with them. He could sleep in Luke's room or something. He dialed Annabeth's number. As he waited for her to pick up, he turned._

_Poseidon's wallet was on the bed. He hung up and walked over to it, picking it up. A note fell out._

_'_Perseus,

I tried and I can't. Too much is going on right now. I left you enough money to support you and your mother for now. I'm sorry. I love you and your mother, Perseus. I hope we can try again soon._'_

_Percy ripped up the letter. He ran a hand through his hair. He didn't want his father's apologies. He didn't want Poseidon's money either. He could support his mother with is own money. He didn't need his father._

_He didn't need anyone. Love is overrated, anyways. That's right. He'll show Poseidon that he didn't need his father's money or his love._

* * *

><p><em><strong>Annabeth's POV<strong>_

_"Thalia, you don't understand. He asked me on a date!"_

_Thalia rolled her eyes and pulled out her ear buds. "You said that last year, Annie. You know, when you actually started dating."_

_"No, that's when he asked me to be his girlfriend. We never officially gone on a date." Thalia sat up. "Sounds like a whole bunch of bullshit to me. Why do you even bother with that dickhead?"_

_"He's your cousin." She reminded her. She continued searching through her closet. Sure, she's been grounded till graduation, but that didn't mean Annabeth was going to actually stay home._

_Her parents seriously didn't know how to punish their children. Wait, no, that wasn't true. Luke and the twins were being punished so much that dad had run out of ideas. And somehow Luke always managed to escape his punishment every time, the sly bastard._

_Malcolm and Annabeth were the perfect children. She'd never been grounded, probably the reason dad didn't know what to do with her. Thalia had manipulated him into allowing her 'visits' from friends. And, as long as it was for school purposes, she was allowed to go over a friends' house._

_"He might be blood, and I love him, but he's a total jackass. I'm just watching out for my future sister in law."_

_Annabeth burst out laughing. Thalia was totally obsessed with Luke. "But seriously, Annabeth. If it took him a whole year of being 'exclusive' to ask you out, there's something going on. I'm just trying to watch out for you."_

_"Or...maybe he's actually trying. Maybe he's actually changed." Annabeth knew that was highly unlikely. Percy was definitely changing, but most likely for the worst. But it never hurt to be optimistic._

* * *

><p><em><strong>Percy's POV<strong>_

_"Dude, don't you have somewhere you need to be?" Grover asked._

_Percy shrugged, putting the phone on speaker. "I don't know what you mean."_

_The line went silent, then Grover sighed. "Seriously, Perce? We're going through this again?" Percy stared up at the ceiling, running a hand through his hair. "You lost me, man. What are you talking about?"_

_"If I could punch you right now, I would. You've been talking about this date since last week. And now you're all depressed?"_

_Oh. Right. His date with Annabeth. He hadn't totally forgotten, but he had pushed it to the back of his mind, due to his current state of homelessness. Technically that wasn't true- they were staying in the pre-paid hotel room- but the expensive and uncomfortably suffocating hotel room felt far from home. Especially since Percy refused to pay for food with his father's money._

_"I take the silence as a sign that I'm right. You're not going to blow her off, are you?" He'd been asking himself that question since last week. He knew standing her up would crush her, but he couldn't continue. He can't do this._

_Getting close to someone would just mean them leaving you in the end. He couldn't make himself go through that again, and he definitely didn't want to do that to Annabeth. It was better to end things before feelings ran too deep._

_"So you are. Come on, dude, you know you're better than that!"_

_"What do you want me to do, Grover?" Percy snapped. "Go over to her house and tell her why I can't go on a date with her? Why I can't love her?"_

_"Yes, Percy. I want you to do exactly that. I know you're my bro, but I watch out for Annabeth too. Tell her."_

_"But-"_

_"No excuses Perce. Promise me you'll explain to her."_

_Percy sighed. "Fine. Later." He hung up. Slipping on his jacket, he grabbed his car keys and slipped out of the hotel room._

_***At the lake****_

_Percy ripped off a branch from one of the trees and started dragging it through the sand. This was his lame excuse for a romantic gesture/breakup. He knew he promised Grover that he would tell Annabeth, but he couldn't. He wasn't strong enough to say to her face that he didn't love her._

_He sat on the shore, his feet in the water, deep in thought. It was about an hour or two before Annabeth would show up._

_He held a piece of paper in his hand, a pen in the other. He didn't know what to say. Everything he thought of sounded lame, definitely something that would make Annabeth hate him._

_He heard leaves crunching. How long had he sat there trying to put pen to paper? He quickly scribbled something on the paper and set it down on the sand, running to hide in the trees._

_A few seconds later, Annabeth came out, looking as beautiful as ever. Percy bit his lip, trying to keep himself from calling out her name. If he saw her up close, it would change those days of convincing himself he didn't need love in his life. And he was absolutely sure that he was better off alone._

_He watched as she looked around, obviously expecting him. She waited there for hours, her head in her hands. Several times he almost reached out and touched her, then recoiled, remembering why he did this in the first place._

_She finally realized that he wasn't coming. She stood up, flats in one hand, and started walking away. She stopped suddenly, looking down._

_Percy's stomach dropped. She found it._

_She picked up the pendant, studying it in her hands. Annabeth turned, reading a blue sticky note. She crumpled it up, her face turning red. He didn't know how he could possibly see it from here, but a tear slipped down her cheek._

_Great. He tried to spare her feelings, but only managed in hurting her._

_Like father, like son._

_It repulsed him to be anything like his bastard of a father, but he knew it was true. He was just following in his father's footsteps. He was just bound to turn out like Poseidon._

* * *

><p><strong>AN:**

**Hello! We're almost at 11,000 views! I'm so happy! If only I had as many reviews...but I'm still grateful!**

**I don't have anything else to say, so...bye, I guess?**

**Review!**

**~greekfreak302**


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: No one is as awesome as Uncle Rick. Including me. Characters belong to him.**

* * *

><p>*****<strong>flashback (still Percy's POV) <strong>*****

_She's not answering. Shit, why isn't she answering? He forced himself to stare at the road and stop fidgeting._

_Sure, they'd gone out before, but they'd never 'gone out'. Like, on a date. He knew Annabeth hated the 'exclusive' thing, but he appreciated her keeping them a secret. It just showed what she was willing to do for him. Not that this was all a cruel test. No. He really loved cared for Annabeth, but his father thought it best his relations with Annabeth was kept private. _

_Which is why he always felt like crap whenever she wanted to go out and he'd shoot her down. Sure, they'd gone to a fast-food restaurant or something with friends, but it was never serious. He could tell Annabeth was fed up._

_Mainly the reason why he'd asked her out. BUT SHE'S NOT FREAKING ANSWERING!_

_His knuckles gripped the steering wheel, turning white. He needed to relax. Maybe she was just wondering why he had suddenly asked her out. Yeah, maybe. Annabeth did like to read in between the lines a lot. He always had to consider his words around her._

_It had taken him all day to work up the nerve to ask her out and now he was left hanging. Maybe she was reconsidering being with Percy at all, not wanting anything to do with him. For what?! Asking her out?!_

_"I don't know." Her voice cut through the panic in his head. When he realized what she'd said, his heart wrenched. I don't know is a clear sign that she's not interested, right?_

_Wait. Of course she's interested. Annabeth Chase is his girlfriend. _His girlfriend_. But he still needed confirmation that Annabeth wasn't done with him. He knew she was starting to get skeptical._

_He forced himself to act as if her response had no impact on him. "It's not a hard question. Yes or no?" Without hesitation, she answered. "Yes."_

_Happiness surged through him. He tried to remain calm, but he couldn't help but smile at her. She bit her lip, forcing back a smile, but her eyes shone brightly. She opened her mouth to say something, but instead her eyes flicked over to something in front of him. "Percy! The road!"_

_He quickly turned back, swerving back into the right lane, narrowly avoiding a massive truck heading their way. Annabeth had that affect on him; making him completely blindsided from the rest of the world. His hand snaked into hers, holding tightly and never letting go the whole ride back to her house._

* * *

><p><em>*some time later**<em>

_"Dad! Guess what! I-" Percy stopped, looking around. There was no one else in the small hotel room. When he checked, only his small suitcase was left in the closet. Percy ran his hands through his hair._

_"No big deal, right? Dad might just be out or something. He's coming back," He said to himself. '_With all his stuff? C'mon, Perce; you're not that stupid.' _he said to himself._

_His mother knew this would happen. But, no, Percy just had to disagree and say that Poseidon will actually act like a father for once. Sally and Percy had just gotten kicked out of their own apartment by Gabe, an abusive lazy bastard whom Sally was married to. She tried to get rid of him and it backfired in their face, so now they were in a nasty court battle. She thought a seventeen year old boy shouldn't be homeless while simultaneously going through all of this, so she decided it was best he stayed with his father so she could sort things out. _

_Poseidon Olympia was an entrepreneur and oceanographer, traveling all over for 'business' purposes. Sally and he always knew that was an excuse for not being a father to Percy and who knew how many other children._

_And for some reason, Poseidon thought it would be a good idea for Percy to stay with him while he was in town. Something about "bonding" he claimed._

_Yeah, some bonding. Most of the time Poseidon would be out at a bar or gods knows where, while Percy waited for him. But recently, he gave up trying. He and his dad will just never be as close as he was with his mother._

_Searching the rooms again, he saw that there was no trace of Poseidon, or any signs that he'd been here. Typical._

_He considered calling Annabeth. Her dad might let him stay with them. He could sleep in Luke's room or something. He dialed Annabeth's number. As he waited for her to pick up, he turned._

_Poseidon's wallet was on the bed. He hung up and walked over to it, picking it up. A note fell out._

_'_Perseus,

I tried and I can't. Too much is going on right now. I left you enough money to support you and your mother for now. I'm sorry. I love you and your mother, Perseus. I hope we can try again soon._'_

_Percy ripped up the letter. He ran a hand through his hair. He didn't want his father's apologies. He didn't want Poseidon's money either. He could support his mother with is own money. He didn't need his father._

_He didn't need anyone. Love is overrated, anyways. That's right. He'll show Poseidon that he didn't need his father's money or his love._

* * *

><p><em><strong>Annabeth's POV<strong>_

_"Thalia, you don't understand. He asked me on a date!"_

_Thalia rolled her eyes and pulled out her ear buds. "You said that last year, Annie. You know, when you actually started dating."_

_"No, that's when he asked me to be his girlfriend. We never officially gone on a date." Thalia sat up. "Sounds like a whole bunch of bullshit to me. Why do you even bother with that dickhead?"_

_"He's your cousin." She reminded her. She continued searching through her closet. Sure, she's been grounded till graduation, but that didn't mean Annabeth was going to actually stay home._

_Her parents seriously didn't know how to punish their children. Wait, no, that wasn't true. Luke and the twins were being punished so much that dad had run out of ideas. And somehow Luke always managed to escape his punishment every time, the sly bastard._

_Malcolm and Annabeth were the perfect children. She'd never been grounded, probably the reason dad didn't know what to do with her. Thalia had manipulated him into allowing her 'visits' from friends. And, as long as it was for school purposes, she was allowed to go over a friends' house._

_"He might be blood, and I love him, but he's a total jackass. I'm just watching out for my future sister in law."_

_Annabeth burst out laughing. Thalia was totally obsessed with Luke. "But seriously, Annabeth. If it took him a whole year of being 'exclusive' to ask you out, there's something going on. I'm just trying to watch out for you."_

_"Or...maybe he's actually trying. Maybe he's actually changed." Annabeth knew that was highly unlikely. Percy was definitely changing, but most likely for the worst. But it never hurt to be optimistic._

* * *

><p><em><strong>Percy's POV<strong>_

_"Dude, don't you have somewhere you need to be?" Grover asked._

_Percy shrugged, putting the phone on speaker. "I don't know what you mean."_

_The line went silent, then Grover sighed. "Seriously, Perce? We're going through this again?" Percy stared up at the ceiling, running a hand through his hair. "You lost me, man. What are you talking about?"_

_"If I could punch you right now, I would. You've been talking about this date since last week. And now you're all depressed?"_

_Oh. Right. His date with Annabeth. He hadn't totally forgotten, but he had pushed it to the back of his mind, due to his current state of homelessness. Technically that wasn't true- they were staying in the pre-paid hotel room- but the expensive and uncomfortably suffocating hotel room felt far from home. Especially since Percy refused to pay for food with his father's money._

_"I take the silence as a sign that I'm right. You're not going to blow her off, are you?" He'd been asking himself that question since last week. He knew standing her up would crush her, but he couldn't continue. He can't do this._

_Getting close to someone would just mean them leaving you in the end. He couldn't make himself go through that again, and he definitely didn't want to do that to Annabeth. It was better to end things before feelings ran too deep._

_"So you are. Come on, dude, you know you're better than that!"_

_"What do you want me to do, Grover?" Percy snapped. "Go over to her house and tell her why I can't go on a date with her? Why I can't love her?"_

_"Yes, Percy. I want you to do exactly that. I know you're my bro, but I watch out for Annabeth too. Tell her."_

_"But-"_

_"No excuses Perce. Promise me you'll explain to her."_

_Percy sighed. "Fine. Later." He hung up. Slipping on his jacket, he grabbed his car keys and slipped out of the hotel room._

_***At the lake****_

_Percy ripped off a branch from one of the trees and started dragging it through the sand. This was his lame excuse for a romantic gesture/breakup. He knew he promised Grover that he would tell Annabeth, but he couldn't. He wasn't strong enough to say to her face that he didn't love her._

_He sat on the shore, his feet in the water, deep in thought. It was about an hour or two before Annabeth would show up._

_He held a piece of paper in his hand, a pen in the other. He didn't know what to say. Everything he thought of sounded lame, definitely something that would make Annabeth hate him._

_He heard leaves crunching. How long had he sat there trying to put pen to paper? He quickly scribbled something on the paper and set it down on the sand, running to hide in the trees._

_A few seconds later, Annabeth came out, looking as beautiful as ever. Percy bit his lip, trying to keep himself from calling out her name. If he saw her up close, it would change those days of convincing himself he didn't need love in his life. And he was absolutely sure that he was better off alone._

_He watched as she looked around, obviously expecting him. She waited there for hours, her head in her hands. Several times he almost reached out and touched her, then recoiled, remembering why he did this in the first place._

_She finally realized that he wasn't coming. She stood up, flats in one hand, and started walking away. She stopped suddenly, looking down._

_Percy's stomach dropped. She found it._

_She picked up the pendant, studying it in her hands. Annabeth turned, reading a blue sticky note. She crumpled it up, her face turning red. He didn't know how he could possibly see it from here, but a tear slipped down her cheek._

_Great. He tried to spare her feelings, but only managed in hurting her._

_Like father, like son._

_It repulsed him to be anything like his bastard of a father, but he knew it was true. He was just following in his father's footsteps. He was just bound to turn out like Poseidon._

* * *

><p><strong>AN:**

**Hello! We're almost at 11,000 views! I'm so happy! If only I had as many reviews...but I'm still grateful!**

**I don't have anything else to say, so...bye, I guess?**

**Review!**

**~greekfreak302**


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer: No one is as awesome as Uncle Rick. Especially me. Characters belong to him.**

**Warning: slight cursing.**

* * *

><p>"Percy?" Annabeth shook him. His eyes glazed over, a pained look on his face, as if he was recalling an arduous memory. She put a hand on his arm.<p>

He blinked, staring down at her with a incomprehensible expression. He loosely wrapped an arm around her, still staring at her. His eyes kept wandering down to her lips, then returning to her eyes, giving her an intense look.

His eyes said a million words. He pulled her in gently, as if he were trying to say something he couldn't possibly say out loud. She hesitantly hugged him back, leaning into his embrace.

What was she doing? Percy was not her boyfriend. She didn't even like him. Okay, major lie, but still. He had Kelli. Why was he wasting time waiting on her? Since when did he do that?

She pulled back gently, as if afraid to break this fragile moment.

"Percy..." His eyes silenced her. Speaking seemed to shatter their little intimate world. She completely pulled away, turning and facing him, her hands tracing a pattern in a blue sweatshirt Percy had lent her.

He wouldn't look at her. What was wrong with Percy? Why was he acting like this all of a sudden?

'_Like what, Annabeth?_' she challenged herself.

Like...like he loved her. He had never been this affectionate

He opened his mouth, looking conflicted, and closed it again. "I..." He frowned. She wanted to yell at him to spit it out, curious as to what he had to say. He sighed, moving farther away from her on the couch. She pulled her knees up to her chest and hugged them, watching Percy carefully.

His back was to her. "Percy? Wha-"

"Annabeth, I'm..." he sighed once again. Was it really that hard? Sure, she didn't know what he was about to say, but she was hoping it was a specific four words.' ..._in love with you.'_

He opened his mouth once again, but when she looked into his eyes, he gave her a small smile, along with an exhausted sigh. Almost as if he was giving up...

"Annabeth, I'm just glad you're awake. I was getting worried."

"Oh. That's it?" Shit. She didn't mean to say it like that. "I mean, you seemed pretty worked up trying to say just that. I thought there might be something else."

Percy nodded, biting his lip. "There is. But...I don't think I'm ready to share jut yet." Annabeth nodded. "I get it."

"But, um...Percy?" He blinked, staring at her. She slowly inched closer to him, fearful that he might not say yes. "Do you mind if I..." She moved in closer, her nerve set on overdrive. They were so close that their noses touched.

"Go ahead," he whispered. His eyes kept flicking to her lips. What if...

'_ugh, shut up, Annabeth and just kiss him!_' a voice in her head said. She shrugged. "Eh, fuck it."

She smashed her lips to his. He held onto her hip, kissing her fervently. She kissed him back with equal eagerness, grabbing the back of his hair and pulling him closer. Somehow- through her Percy induced haze- she had slid into his lap. Her face felt hot upon this realization, but she never let go, pulling him impossibly closer. They were so close it seemed like their bodies were molded together.

Somehow, through their intense make out session, there still seemed to be an overwhelming sense of intimacy, making it all even hotter for Annabeth. They barely parted while Percy pulled off his shirt. He started thumbing the sweatshirt, but she put a hand on his, stopping him. "Percy, stop. I..." She looked away, clearly embarrassed.

"You're still a virgin, aren't you?" He asked. There was no judgment in his tone, more like astonishment. She nodded, hanging her head."19 year old virgin, I know." (**A/N: not trying to offend anyone. Sorry if I did! :)**) Percy moved hair away from her face with a certain tenderness that made Annabeth lean into his touch. "There's nothing wrong with that, Annabeth. Actually, it's kind of cool."

Percy had always respected the 'no sex' rule, something Annabeth was completely grateful for. "I'm just saving myself for someone totally worth it," she mumbled, looking away. The amount of heat rushing to her face made it feel like it was melting.

Percy sat up, cupping her face in his hands. He leaned in and kissed her lovingly. Somehow, this was way better than before. Her love for Percy increased 10 times. She sighed, twisting her finger on a lock of his hair. "God, I love you," she mumbled. Percy froze, and Annabeth realized what she'd just said.

"Am I interrupting something?"

* * *

><p><strong>PERCY'S POV<strong>

Crap.

What was Kelli doing here? As far as his knowledge went, she was supposed to be on vacation in Greece.

"Babe," He saw Annabeth wince, but ignored it. "What are you doing here?" He stood up, finding his shirt and put it back on. By the door, holding several suitcases, Kelli waited for an answer patiently. He walked over to her slowly.

She pulled off her sunglasses, fixing her cold gaze on Annabeth. When he approached, her cold demeanor completely changed. "May I ask what you were doing with her?" She asked, no hint of anger in her tone. She seemed genuinely curious. But he knew Kelli. She was just acting calm, but inside it was pretty obvious she was pissed.

Although she looked at Annabeth as if she were quizzical, Percy could see straight through her mask. She looked like a predator stalking its prey, ready to rip Annabeth to pieces. She raised an eyebrow. "Are any of you going to stop staring at me and answer the quetion that has been asked?"

"We were practicing," Annabeth said quietly. Kelli stared at her over Percy's shoulder and actually_ laughed_. Percy nervously laughed too. "What's so funny, Kelli?"

"Silly me," She stopped laughing. Her eyes felt like it was ripping through him. "I thought you might have been cheating on me. But no. That was all just a scene for your movie."

"Something like that," Annabeth mumbled. "I get it. Of course you wouldn't be so stupid as to cheating on me with_ her_." Kelli said, resting a hand on Percy's shoulder.

"_Excuse me_?" Annabeth said, standing up. He held out a hand towards Annabeth, stopping her. He refocused his attention on Kelli. "Nothing happened, Kelli. She is no threat. You're my girlfriend. She's my costar. That's all we were doing; practicing." Kelli's lip curled and she crossed her arms, but she nodded anyways.

"Hello? 'She', the costar, is standing right here!" Annabeth said, face flushed in anger.

He pecked Kelli on the lips, grabbing his car keys. "Stay here. I'll drop Annabeth home, okay?"

Begrudgingly, she nodded. He started walking through the door without waiting for Annabeth. He paused just before reaching the door.

"Let me go," Annabeth said. A glance behind him showed Kelli holding Annabeth's arm tightly, claws for nails digging into her skin. "I used to think you were a persistently bothersome little girl who hardly posed a threat. Obviously I was wrong. Now you've earned my undivided attention.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:**

**Well, that was...I seriously have no words for this chapter. Short chappie, I know, but oh well. Sorry if I offended anyone anyhow.**

**Percy and Annabeth are starting to develop feelings! Well, not really, considering Annabeth already loves Percy ...a lot. Unconditionally. But now that love is turning into something deeper. Chapter 15, yay! But in all honesty, this chapter really sucks. Luckily, the story kicks off next chap.**

**OH MY GODS! I have so many ideas and no idea how to write them and its killing me! Seriously, though. So many ideas (most of which i forget) that I want to add but wont fit in with the plot! But, I might or might not start another story when this one is over.**

**Not while I'm still writing this story, because I _will_ lose interest. Sadly, that's what happened with my other story, Stupidity Killed the Cat. I started writing Beautifully Flawed and completely abandoned S.K.C. So sad. :-(**

**Anyways, enough rambling!**

**Random question: what's your worse fear?**

**Review!**

**~greekfreak302**


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer: No one is as awesome as Uncle Rick. Especially me. Characters belong to him.**

**Warning: slight cursing.**

**A/N: AnnabethGranger7121993: don't worry, they'll be no sex scenes. Not that type of story. **

**Anyways, keep reading!**

* * *

><p><strong>ANNABETH'S POV<strong>

She stared out the window, still fuming. Should she really be afraid of Kelli? Because all Annabeth was now was pissed. Kelli was not intimidating in the slightest. Annabeth had dealed with monsters- and problems- bigger than her.

She huffed, crossing her arms, offended that Percy wouldn't say anything."Why are you even-"

"She's a bitch, I know." Percy said. She stared at him, eyebrows knitted. "Then why the hell would you even consider calling a monster like her your _girlfriend_?" She asked, shifting in her seat to face him.

"It's complicated."

"I remember when you used to say that about our relationship." She muttered, looking out of the window. "Percy, why did you just stand there and let her call me names?" She asked. "I know you heard what she said to me."

Percy remained unresponsive. She punched him in the arm. He yelped. "Watch it, Wisegirl, I'm driving! Are you trying to get us killed?"

She allowed a small smile on her face. He called her Wise Girl. Sure, that had gotten him points, but not as many as he'd just gotten taken away for not saying anything.

"We're here."

Annabeth pulled off the sweatshirt, leaving her in only a black tank top that kept riding up her torso. "What are you doing?"

"I'm giving you back your sweatshirt. I don't need it. And I'm sure Kelli had noticed it. She'd give you hell if she found out you'd given it to me." She got out of the car. Percy glanced out the window, an uneasy look settling across his face.

"Put it back on!" he hissed.

"Why?"

"I don't like the way they're staring at you." Across the street, a group of dirty faced men stared at Annabeth, a hungry look in their eyes.

"So? I'm just going upstairs. Did you forget that I live here? I deal with this everyday."

She started to walk away but he called her back. "Annabeth, put on the sweatshirt."

"No. You're not my boyfriend. And, since you don't have enough balls to stick up to your girlfriend, we're not friends either. You have no right to tell me what I can and cannot wear." She was growing more irritated by the second.

"So? Put the damn thing on, Annabeth!" He yelled.

"No. Fuck off, Percy." She pulled off her tank top, an act of defiance. Percy was not going to tell her what to do. She started walking away in only her grey and blue striped bra, ignoring Percy's calling

"ANNABETH!" He yelled.

She turned and flipped him the finger. "I don't answer to cat calls!" she yelled back, shaking her hips with a sly grin. It was obvious that Percy was pissed, to her delight. She blew him a kiss.

* * *

><p>"Annabeth, where the hell have you b-" Thalia stopped, looking Annabeth up and down. "Why are you not wearing a shirt?"<p>

Annabeth opened her mouth and closed it, her face burning. Gwen squealed, pushing Thalia aside. She swatted at Thalia. "You're asking the wrong questions." She turned to Annabeth, a big grin on her face.

Annabeth backed up. "Who is he?" Gwen asked, advancing. Annabeth pretended to not know what she was talking about. "What do you mean?"

Gwen rolled her eyes. "You've been MIA for forever. You were obviously with a boy. Also explains your fashion choice." She gestured to Annabeth's chest. Annabeth's face burned. "Who's the lucky boy?"

"Um..he, uh..." She didnt want to tell them it was Percy. Then they'd all just freak out and create more problems. Piper pushed Gwen aside, grabbing Annabeth's hand and leading her to an empty suitcase. "You have forty five minutes. Gossip can wait."

"What? Where are we going?"

"Chicago." Gwen answered, as if this was the most obvious thing ever. "You start filming tomorrow, remember?"

Shit. She had totally forgotten. "Crap!" She ran into her room and started grabbing whatever she could find, flinging it into the suitcase. Gwen and Piper calmly folded the clothes, neatly putting them into the suitcase. "Hey, Anna," Gwen called. "Who's this mysterious new boy toy? You're lips are swollen. You've obviously been sucking face all morning."

Annabeth stopped, her face flushing. What was she supposed to say? If she told them it was Percy, they'll certainly freak out and ask for more questions. Then she'll have to tell them why she left...

"C'mon, Anna, just give us a name!"Gwen said. A small smile grew on Piper's face. "I'm actually pretty curious, too."

"Uh... his name is..."

Thalia chuckled. "Wow, Annabeth. I never thought you were the 'quickie' type." Oh no. Thalia too?

"His name is, err...Apollo!"

Thalia coughed. Piper and Gwen stopped, staring at Thalia, who was on the floor in her coughing fit. "Apollo?" she croaked.

Shit. She had forgotten that Apollo was one of Thalia's siblings. Annabeth stood up from the clothes pile on the bottom of her closet and walking into the living room. She had honestly said the first name that came to her head.

"Um...yeah." She avoided Thalia's eyes. Apollo had actually been her first crush when she was ten. He was a total flirt, hitting on anything in a skirt. He was cute then, but now he was a total god. Nothing compared to Percy, though...

"What the hell? He's 25!"

"So..." she said quietly, suddenly embarrassed she hadn't told the truth. "Please, just drop it, Thalia. What time do we have to leave?" She turned to Piper.

Her assistant grabbed her tablet, tapped in a few things and bit her lip. "Now."

"What?!" She shrieked.

* * *

><p>"I'm Katie, and this is my sister Miranda."<p>

The girl's dark mahogany hair stopped at her shoulders, bangs falling into her kind black eyes. She looked about Annabeth's age, along with the girl next to her. Actually, they looked so alike they could almost be twins...

"Are you, by any chance, sisters?" They both nodded. The blonde one- Miranda- stared at Annabeth. "I'm sorry, I'm just a big fan. Its so great that I get to actually see you in person!"

Annabeth laughed. "Just act like I'm normal. I assume you'll be around set?"

She nodded vigorously, her face turning red. Katie laughed, putting a hand on her sister's shoulder. "Breath, Mir. It's just Annabeth." Her sister shrieked."Just Annabeth?! This is _the_ Annabeth Chase."

Katie turned to Annabeth, smiling. "I apologize for my sister. She's...new to the industry. She's a factionless. I play Molly."

An arm snaked around Katie's waist and the grinning face of Travis Stoll rested his chin on her shoulder. Katie didn't even need to look over her shoulder to know who it was. She grabbed his hand and twisted, pushing him off of her. "Get lost, Stoll."

Travis, cradling his arm, yelped and pecked her on the lips. She screamed in outrage. "Stop being such a prude, Katie," Travis said. Katie's face grew as red as a tomato. "I am not your girlfriend!"

Travis grinned mischievously. "But you can be." She shrieked. "Travis, you're lucky Chiron wants us in Chicago in one piece! Or else I swear I will rip off your-"Katie's outburst had drawn a few people's attention, who were staring at her oddly. Annabeth blinked in surprise. She hadn't know Katie for that long, but she was normally good at reading people.

Katie seemed like a sweet, soft spoken girl, but this wasn't the girl she saw yelling at Travis. Annabeth smiled, realizing that Katie liked him. Her face wasn't flushing in anger - no, she was embarrassed-and she was trying to fight back a smile. They were perfect for each other!

Annabeth made a face. Since when did she become Gwen?

Katie, finally noticing the unwanted attention, grabbed a piece of paper and a pencil, furiously scribbling something on it while Travis looked over her shoulder. She whirled to face him, shoving the piece of paper in his face. In giant letters read 'GIRL FRIEND."

Katie pointed to the space between the two words. "See the space, Travis? It's what we girls call the 'friend zone'. Something you'll never get across."

Anabeth put a hand over her mouth to smother her laughter. Miranda grinned, high-fiving her sister. Connor -when had he gotten here?- patted his older brother's back. "Apply ice to the burn area."

The speakers overhead screeched, deafening everyone. "Now boarding Mr. Cenaur's private flight to Chicago. Please board gate 33."

Chiron had booked two flights to Chicago; one for the regular time, and the other for those who were three hours late, which he somehow knew would happen. Most of the younger actors had been late. Annabeth was just relieved that she wasn't the only one.

There were about 30 of them in total. Half were the actors and actresses, while the other half were assistants and friends of the stars or others from the backstage crew. Chiron really needed to be stricter with the security.

After they'd boarded, she'd received a twenty minute lecture from Silena about why you should never wear sweatpants with a loose shirt. After somehow managing to escape, Annabeth looked around. Hazel was talking to some dark haired goth boy, Miranda and Katie were preoccupied with the Stolls, Thalia was still pissed about Annabeth "dating" her brother, and Piper was doing something on her tablet.

She smiled after noticing an empty seat near the back. She started walking to it.

Her smile faded. Percy.

He leaned against his chair, face chalk white, staring out the window. She snickered. How had Annabeth forgotten about his fear of flying? She remembered when they were twelve, when they'd ran away from home together. They'd been caught by the police and shipped on a plane back to New York. She'd had to hold his hand the whole ride back.

She sat next to him, trying to fight back laughter. "It isn't funny," she heard in a strained voice. Annabeth looked over and saw Percy was gripping onto the chair handle tightly, risking a glance over her.

"Actually it-" The cabin rocked. Percy yelped. "Relax, Seaweed Brain. It's just turbulence."

"Just turbulence?!" He yelled. "We were falling for a few seconds. I swear I felt it!" She snorted. "Still as much as a baby as I remember you to be. Don't worry, I'm right here." She forced his hand out of the death grip he had on the chair and slipped her hand into his. He held on so tightly it was as if he was trying to break her hand. But she didn't mind. She soothingly rubbed the back of his hand.

Where was this coming from? Just this morning they'd been arguing. Now, here she was, comforting him like old times. It was weird. "Truce," he asked. She nodded. "For now, at least."

The turbulence had stopped, but she didn't let go. She kept holding on to his hand, holding as tight as he held hers. He looked over at her, finally calm, obviously thinking the same thing. He stared at their hands and smiled. She pretended not to notice.

"Percy, I'll always be here," she mumbled so low that she doubted her didnt know if it was in head, but he felt his grip tighten just a little more.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Hello, readers. This chapter totally sucked, which is why I'm gonna make a lame excuse and say its a filler. **

**Did anyone notice the (kind of) quote from Divergent? Oh yeah, I forgot to say this before: I apologize in advance if I spoil anything for you.**

**KayKayGymnast16: Omfg, seriously? Are you okay? Wow, okay. I don't really know what to say other than omfg. So ,um, I hope it straightens again! Feel better!**

**Burned Blue Cookie: I apologize for making you hate your favorite god. I'm just using Luke's point of view of the gods to make Poseidon seem like he's the worst father ever. **

**PercabethShipper671: Don't worry, our fearlessness shall be our weapon. (tfios) (^-^)**

**Smiles burn in the Styx: If I tell you, I might have to kill you. Jk. But, what I can tell you is that the story's most likely going to be a Percabeth**** fanfic called 'Is It True?'**

**And that makes me wonder, what's your favorite PJO pairing? Doesn't even have to be a real ship. Just curious.**

**Keep reading and review!  
><strong>

**~greekfreak302**


	17. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer: No one is as awesome as Uncle Rick. Especially me. Characters belong to him.**

**Warning: slight cursing.**

* * *

><p>****flashback****<p>

"That is_ the_ stupidest thing I have ever heard," she said under her breath.

Everyone stopped talking and stared at her. Her face burned with the realization that she had said that aloud. "Annabeth," Daedalus, the planning committee's leader, raised an eyebrow. "Care to share your opinion?"

Michael Yew, who had suggested the idea for 'a night in Paris' glared at her, daring her to say something against him. But she wasn't afraid of the little punk, who was about a foot shorter than her- which was saying something because she wasn't the tallest person in the world. Daedalus, ignoring Michael's glare, smiled at Annabeth and gestured to the front to the 'conference room', which was really just a small old classroom that the student body used for meetings and such.

Awkwardly scooting out of her chair (just her luck that the only noise in the room was the metal chair scraping on the floor), Anabeth slowly walked to the front of the room, feeling eyes burning into her with every step she took.

Annabeth really had to stop saying things out loud. Her idea wasn't any better than his, so why was she criticizing the Paris theme? Although way too overplayed, it was beautiful overall.

"Okay, um..where do I start?" she looked at Daedalus, who just waved in response. "Your opinion would be nice. Then maybe you should share you idea that you supposedly think is so brilliant."

"Well," she wrung her hands. "Paris theme is so...unoriginal and typical. Paris...the city of love...makes people think of love, right? So every couple there would be enjoying themselves. But the lonely people; what about them? How about a theme that makes the lonely people feel included. Giving them a chance without actually risking anything..."

Daedalus nodded slowly, rubbing his chin. "Masquerade..." he said. Annabeth nodded, squeezing her hands so tight her knuckles were turning white. With baited breath she watched Daedalus' expression closely. A smile grew and she released a breath of relief.

"It's brilliant!" He stood up and hugged her. Someone coughed loudly. The smile disappeared off her face as she stared at Yew, trying her hardest not to scowl. Why was he always trying to rain on everyone's parade?

"That is the stupidest thing I've ever heard. You say Paris is overplayed? Everyone has done Masquerade."

She let go of Daedalus and put her hands on her hips, staring down at Yew. "Exactly. Everyone has done it. While Paris is still a beautifully overplayed idea, the Masquerade craze is just finishing. We're recycling. No one else will be doing it because it's already forgotten. We're making it an originality."

Yew's face was as red as a tomato and his face scrunched up, probably in anger. "Well I say we don't do it."

Daedalus clapped. "All in favor for Paris?" Only Yew and one other person raised their hands. "Masquerade?" Everyone else, including Daedalus, raised their hands. Annabeth couldn't help the smug look growing on her face.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

A hand clapped her on the back. She yelped, elbowing the guy in the stomach, but she had a feeling she already knew who it was.

"You've gotten soft," She snickered. Percy, who's breath was slowly returning, pouted. "I am not! You just...caught me by surprise." Annabeth snorted, collecting her books. "Weren't you the one who was trying to scare me? You should've seen it coming, really."

"Can we stop harming my manly pride and change the subject?" Percy asked, rubbing his chest. "Why don't you ever say something polite every once and a while?"

Once again, Annabeth snorted. "And boost your ego? No thank you. I'd never hear the end of it. C'mon, we have to leave. I think the debate team is meeting here." She shoved her books in her bag and grabbed the rest of them, exiting the conference room with a sulking Percy.

"You gave me a put down, now you have to give me two put ups."

She turned back and stared at him, shaking her head. "What are you, five? And what the hell is a put up?" But Percy crossed his arms in response and stopped walking. "Hurry up or we'll be late for math!"

Percy scowled. "I wouldnt mind that. But just say two nice things about me and we'll go to class."

She sighed in annoyance. "Fine. You're not completely stupid and you're kind of strong. Happy?" Without waiting for a response, she kept walking. "Hey, wait up!" Percy once again reappeared at her side.

"What you did back in...the meeting...was pretty bad ass. You know. In a nerdy Annabeth sort of way." She stuck her tongue out. "Two put ups." She started walking ahead, hiding back a grin.

Percy gave her a devilish grin. "Don't worry, the nerdy thing is kind of hot. And, you're strong. Anyone messing with you will surely enter a world of pain." Annabeth's face turned a deep shade of scarlet. She ducked her head so he wouldn't see, but she could almost feel the smirk on his face.

Was he flirting? No, he couldnt have been. As far as Annabeth was concerned, he's not interested.

She shoved him. "Shut up. Wait, why were you even at the meeting? You're not on the committee."

"I had a free period and I remembered you going on about some dance you were planning. So I thought I might stop by to see you." Annabeth's cheeks tinted, and she couldn't help but grin. Not knowing what to say, she picked up her pace. "C'mon! We only have one minute until class starts. And I am _not_ going to be late because of you."

Percy watched Annabeth disappear around the corner, shaking his head with a smile.

* * *

><p>"You're late."<p>

Annabeth stopped fussing over her dress and stared at Daedalus. "What? You said that we had to be here 20 minutes before the ball started, right?"

He pinched the bridge of his nose. "I said we were supposed to be here two hours before the ball started so we can go over the preparations one last time," He didn't necessarily look annoyed with her, but he did seem frustrated with this whole thing.

"But Micheal told me..." she trailed off, realizing that that little dwarf had duped her. "I'm an idiot. Shit, I didn't know. Daedalus, I am so sorry."

He sighed. "It's fine. Just help with the banners," she nodded.

-0-0-

The moment those doors opened, Annabeth was ready to run. Dozens of people rushed in, excited chatter deafening her. Within ten minutes the dance was in full swing, the dance floor over crowded, couples making out in dark corners, and idiots spiking the punch bowl. But everyone had a sense of formality (some more than others) wearing tuxes or floor length dresses and masks.

Annabeth herself had just decided to pin her hair up , several strands of intricate curls falling down to her shoulders,framing the swirly designed silver half-faced mask. Her dress was nothing special- just a black and white off the shoulder gown. She looked alright, but compared to the other girls(who had gone all out on their dresses and nails and hair) she looked like Cinderella before the transformation.

"Wanna dance?" She tensed, feeling hot breath on her neck. The guy chuckled, gently grabbing her hand and leading her to the center of the dance floor. "Why is this reminding me of Cinderella?" she mumbled. She received a dazzling smile.

The mysterious boy had a grey tux with a dark blue dress shirt and a matching grey tie, his eyes covered by a navy mask with white swirls. The only thing that seemed off about his gorgeous attire was his shoes, which were plain silver Chuck Taylor high tops. She returned to his face. "Except you're wearing the glass slippers."

Chuck Taylors- since she didn't know his name she was going to call him that now- grinned at her, wrapping an arm around her waist. He ducked his head down to her height, his lips nearly touching her ear. "Trust me, I have no intention of leaving anytime soon. And if I were to leave quite suddenly, I'd be sure to leave you my phone number instead of a shoe."

She shivered. Who was this guy? Even if she couldn't see his face, he was totally hot...and smooth.

Remembering this guy was a total stranger, Annabeth regained her posture. She was not going to let him get into her pants, if that was what he was trying to do. She avoided his intense stare, looking around. "The song's over," she breathed. Once again, Chuck Taylors grinned.

"Do you know who I am?" He asked, leading her to a bench all the way in the back of the gym, which had already been dubbed 'the make out corner'. "No," she huffed, crossing her arms, "I can't even see your eyes."

"That's the point," he said, kissing her hand. "Masquerade, remember? You're not supposed to know my identity. But it is fairly obvious who you are, Ms. Chase."  
>She rolled her eyes. "I knew I was right. This is totally Cinderella, right? You're pranking me, aren't you? You're going to charm the pants right off of me and then run away, and I'll never see you again, or know who you are. Might as well leave now, save yourself the trouble. Because I already find you...interesting, to say the least."<p>

She turned and crossed her arms and was only met with silence. Had he really left? Annabeth felt a small pang in her chest. '_What am I doing? I like Percy. This Chuck Taylor guy is a complete stranger. I'm glad he left. I can go on with my life._'

She turned back, but instead of an empty bench, she was met with the navy mask. Peering at the mask, she could see a flash of green. Okay, so at least now she knew he had green eyes and black hair. Before she could get excited, she took a deep breath. Anyone can have green eyes and black hair, right?

Before she could stand up, he grabbed her hand and kissed her tenderly. It was over too soon.

He smirked and her dumbfounded expression. "You see, I can't exactly do that, Annabeth. I'll admit it, I've kind of been obsessed with you for an unhealthy amount of time. But its obvious you have eyes for another man. I just thought that today might be the day I can actually tell you how I feel without having a panic attack. And, before you think I'm a total stalker, I'm not. You know me. But for some reason you can't guess who I am and that's kind of bumming me out..."

She closed her mouth, which she hadn't realized had fallen open. Now she was really confused. "Now, you can go about your life pretending this night never happened, and go back to being oblivious and blindsided by your crush, or you can stay here with me, at least until the night is over."

"Who are you," she asked again. He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Does it matter?"

She shook her head. It didn't matter. "It's just...you're my Cinderella. I already like you. But, I swear, if you leave me tonight I will hunt you down and kill you." She glared for good measure. But he didn't seem scared at all. Actually, he smiled. There were only a few people in this world that could remain unperturbed by Annabeth's glare... Percy was one of them.

"I promise I'll tell you who I am before the ball is over." He stood up and held out his hand.

"You better," she mumbled, accepting the hand and allowing herself to be led to the dance floor once again. Why did Annabeth feel like she was in some alternate universe of Cinderella? She couldn't help but feel the gnawing feeling at her stomach. She had a feeling she knew who the mystery boy was...

* * *

><p>"Hey, you promised." she complained, allowing herself to be dragged outside by Chuck Taylors.<p>

He put a hand to his lips, grinning. She couldn't help but smile back.

What the hell was wrong with her? When did she allow herself to follow strangers? For all she knew, this guy could have been lying and really was a stalker. He could have been leading her outside to rape her. Perfect spot, right? It was dark, cold and the wind would rip away any screams she attempted to make.

She couldn't help but shudder at that thought. She could take care of herself. "Where are we going?" she asked quietly, ready to make a run for it if necessary. "You'll see," he answered, putting a hand over her eyes. It wasn't really necessary, considering the mask gave her poor vision as it is.

"If you're ditching me t-"

He chuckled. "I'm not ditching you, Annabeth." He put his hand in hers so she would know he was still there. "The dance ended five minutes ago. And why are we going outside? Its _winter_." she mumbled. He squeezed her hand reassuringly. "Thanks for telling me the season because I couldn't tell because of the snow on the ground. You know, I don't remember you complaining this much."

"Then you obviously don't know who Anabeth Chase is," she said. He stopped abruptly. He moved his hand, and her mask. "You...you did this?" She asked, stepping forward.

The school had a gazebo in the middle of a large pond which was currently frozen over. There was a small arched bridge leading into it. A stone fountain of a satyr was in the middle of the gazebo,normally spewing water into the pond. Annabeth always loved coming here, especially when she was upset. Sometimes she came simply to admire the architecture. She knew firsthand how deep the pond was (about seven feet), yet the gazebo floated above the water. She had figured out that it was held up by steel beams that looked nearly invisible. It was an odd attraction, but Annabeth loved it.

But that wasn't why she was so awestruck now. It was covered in golden lights, making everything shine. Even beneath the water glowing different colors. It was..."Beautiful," she breathed, looking around. "Oh, you had no idea how hard it was to get lights beneath he water. But, there's more," he said, gesturing to the gazebo. She slowly walked onto the slippery walkway, feeling like this was all a dream.

A blanket, along with several candles, was laid on the floor, a picnic basket holding it in place. "A picnic? You realize its like 20 degrees, right? I don't even have a coat."

He took off his tux jacket and put it on her shoulders. "Stop being logical, Annabeth. Think of it as a...picnic in paradise."

"How'd you know I'd even stay with you this long?" She asked. He shrugged, sitting down. "I didn't. And I know how much you love coming here, so I thought what the hell."

Annabeth was silent. So maybe he wasn't lying when he said he liked her.

About an hour later, Annabeth felt as if she might explode. The curiosity was killing her.

"Okay," She said. "I've been with you all night and I need to know who you are. You promised to show me who you are. Take off the mask." She grabbed his hand and he looked down.

"I can't."

"What?" She asked.

"If I take off the mask...I'm afraid you'll reject me. What if you see me and you don't return the feelings? What if you finally realize how much of a dork I am and stay way from me?" The funny thing was, that's exactly how she felt about Percy if she told him how she felt.

"I...I wont, I promise. Just take off the mask," Her voice got a little louder. Somehow she knew that her fairy tale was coming to an end. He wasn't going to tell her who he was. He was going to run, leaving her love-struck. Or maybe it really was a cruel prank all along.

"I can give you a clue, though. And if you do know how I am and you still don't care, tell me."

"What's the clue," She asked, afraid she wouldn't be able to figure it out. He brushed his finger against her cheek. "Don't be so worried, Annabeth. You're way smarter than me. You'd be able to solve it."

Once again, she waited.

"Drool," he said simply. She stared at him, her eyebrows knitted. "_What_?" He seemed to be surprised by her lack of knowledge of this word. "Wow...you actually forgot."

"I'm sorry that I don't remember stupid words like drool. How is that supposed to tell me who you are?" she snapped, getting irritated. He stood up, dusting off his clothes. "I should go..."

"Yes, its 12:00. You should be on your way. And then tomorrow, when I still have no idea what the hell drool means, I won't be thinking about you. You know why? Because I knew it was just a stupid prank. And I still followed you out here like an idiot."

He lowered his head sadly, turning and walking off.

What was 'drool' supposed to mean? Maybe she saw him drooling and said something. Maybe it was the first thing she said to him. The first thing she said to him...

'_You drool in your sleep_'

She remembered when they were twelve, when Percy had been knocked out by a bully in camp. For some reason she had been put in charge of taking care of him. The first thing she'd said to him was that he drooled in his sleep.

But...that had nothing to do with this guy, right? Percy had told her that dances were lame and he was skipping it. And it was simply too hard to b believe that someone actually liked her.

"Wait," She called. She could be wrong. It never hurt to take risks, right? Wrong. It always hurt to take risks.

Running after him, and nearly falling several times, she yelled out to him. Seeing as it was too dangerous to run after him, she stopped and watched his tall and lanky figure walking away. "Percy..." she whispered.

"PERCY JACKSON. Stop!" She yelled before he disappeared from her vision. He froze. She quickly walked towards him, deciding to run. She decided that if this was a dream, it didn't matter, right?

"Percy, she breathed, finally reaching him. She grabbed his shoulder, and turned him around. "Percy, I don't care." He smiled. She ripped off his mask to prove it, throwing it on the ground. "Annabeth, wha-"

"Shut up." She grabbed his tie and pulled him down, kissing him. This definitely wasn't a dream. Her stomach fluttered, realizing that she was actually kissing Percy Jackson. Her best friend, and the boy she'd had a crush on for years. He actually liked her back...

* * *

><p><strong>AN:**

**3,265 words, wow! Another filler, but its the longest chapter yet, so I'm pretty happy about that. This chapter had nothing to do with the story, like at all. Just Annabeth remembering how they started dating. Doesn't really fit in, but writer's block is a real bitch. **

**So, I have a question for you all. For the movie cast or whatever, who should be who? I'm thinking Nico as Al, Drew as Tori, Medea as Jeanine, and Octavian or Jason as Eric. Thoughts?**

**Random question: if you could have an abnormal ability ( as in, superpower), what would it be?**

**Keep reading**

**~greekfreak302**


	18. Chapter 18

**Disclaimer: No one is as awesome as Uncle Rick. Especially me. Characters belong to him.**

**Warning: slight cursing.**

* * *

><p>Annabeth slowly opened her eyes, looking around. How long had she been asleep?<p>

She realized that she had fallen asleep on Percy's shoulder. Feeling something slightly heavy on her head, she risked a glance upwards. Percy's head rested in her hair, his face calm, finally looking at peace. He stirred slightly, leaning down and nuzzling Annabeth's neck. Her face flushed.

As much as she wanted to lean into his warmth and go back to sleep, she forced herself to untangle herself from him, standing up and avoiding his eyes. "Annabeth?" He asked groggily.

She turned. "We're landing." She paused, a smirk growing on her face. "You drool in your sleep." She grabbed her bag and walked away. "Seaweed Brain," she muttered, sure that he'd hear her.

~0~0~0~0~0~0`

After exiting, they were escorted to limos and spread up into groups. "Hey...Annabeth?"

She forced her attention away from the window to look at Hazel. The younger girl was smiling slyly."You know...I saw the most interesting sight on the plane." She shared a look with Piper. "Did you see anything, Piper?"

Annabeth's assistant nodded, an expression mirroring Hazel's on her face. Annabeth stared at them skeptically, not liking where this was going. "Perfect blackmail material, if I may say so myself, Hazel," Piper said.

"What's going on?" Annabeth asked. The two girls stared at her, identical smiles growing. "I don't think we should leave her in the dark anymore, Piper. What do yo you think?"

"Hmm...I think she has a right to see them." She turned to Annabeth. "But just so you know, we're not deleting them."

"See what? delete what?" She demanded. What were these two hiding? Piper was devious enough to do something to embarrass Annabeth without regrets, but Hazel surely wasn't. If it was blackmail, maybe Annabeth could convince the younger girl to delete it. Whatever 'it' was.

"Show her," Hazel said, her eyes glinting mischievously. Piper grabbed her phone and showed Annabeth.

Her mouth parted in shock, and her face burned. Lunging, her hand shot out at the phone. Her had swiped at empty air. Piper had safely pulled the phone away, out of reach. "I'd expect this of Piper, but not you, Hazel. Delete it."

Piper mocked her, making a pouty face. "Don't be so sad, Annie. No one'll see it. Yet."

Hazel bit her lip, already looking guilty. "She hates us now," she said quietly. "Maybe we should delete it." Piper whirled on Hazel. "What? No, we can't do that! What happened to perfect blackmail material?"

Annabeth leaned forward and place a comforting hand on Hazel's knee. Shouldn't they be comforting her? These pictures could ruin everything. "Hazel, I don't hate you. But I am considering wringing Piper's neck right now." Hazel's eyes widened, but Piper grinned, showing Annabeth a slideshow of pictures.

"I will send these pictures before you even touch me. You know I can." As much as she hated to admit it, Piper was right. Annabeth didn't know how( maybe the girl was blessed with some super awesome assistant powers or something) but Piper was extremely fast when it came to technology. She could send a message ( with all characters filled up ) within a few seconds. It never ceased to amaze her.

Really, Annabeth was just overreacting. It was just a few (dozen) pictures of her and Percy sleeping on the plane. One of them had his hand on her lap, her head rested in his. She had to say that was the most innocent ones. The rest were just horrible. The worst one was where she was practically in Percy's lap, her head buried in his chest and her body curled in a ball. His hand was on her waist protectively, his face buried in her hair.

How had she not felt that in her sleep? Unless they moved her...

At least it didn't show her face.

"Argus," she turned to the driver. He looked through the rear view mirror. For some reason her driver never really talked that much. Maybe he was mute, or he simply wasn't much of a talker. Either way, it worked better for her. It would ensure that he wouldn't go blabbing to the police. "If you happen to hear screams back hear, everything is fine." With that being said, she pushed the button for the divider.

Wide-eyed Hazel swallowed, while Piper seemed to be contemplating her options. Annabeth grinned evilly.

* * *

><p>"Ow." Piper said. Annabeth climbed out of the vehicle, ignoring her friend.<p>

"OW!" Piper complained louder, rubbing her head. Annabeth finally turned to her assistant, raising an eyebrow. "Is there a problem?" She asked, grinning. Piper playfully glared at Annabeth. "You punched me and slammed my head against the window!"

"Shh! Someone'll hear you." Annabeth said. Chiron had told all of the small parties of actors and actresses to meet in the hotel's lobby so they could have a 'cast meeting'. She was pretty convinced that he just wanted all the actors to meet each other for their five minute 'I'm glad to be working with you' conversation. He had bought them all rooms to a fancy hotel called 'Belle' (Which was definitely not Annabeth's style), pairing them with a few other bunkmates.

"We're only in the parking lot. And I I forget to say OW?!" she yelled in Annabeth's ear. She sighed. "Piper, I barely punched you hard enough. And I did not slam your head against the window. You were trying to get away from me, jumped, and hit your head. How is that my fault?" She honestly didn't remember Piper being so...dramatic.

Hazel was shaking her head, silently watching them. Annabeth wouldn't blame her if she thought they were freaks. Because they were. "Do you normally hurt each other like this?" She asked, wide-eyed. Her innocent expression kind of reminded Annabeth of a doe.

"Um...pretty much," Piper shrugged. Hazel visibly tensed. "Relax, I won't hurt you. We're not at that stage where you annoy me...yet." Annabeth explained. She swallowed and nodded. Anabeth grinned.

"Annabeth, Hazel! You've finally arrived! I was beginning to get worried."

"We had to stop by a pharmacy to get an ice pack," Hazel said, grinning. Chiron didnt seem to know what to make of this. He awkwardly nodded. "Well, I believe you're one of the last groups to arrive. While we wait for one more, you can settle into your hotel room and associate yourselves with the others. Go to the front desk and I believe they have your room keys."

They both nodded.

"What room number?" Hazel asked Annabeth. The leading actors/actresses got the huge rooms, while the minor actors got the smaller rooms. But they didnt have to share the room, so they were all even.

"Uh...I don't know. The key he gave me doesn't say," She frowned. "Mine either," Hazel said. Annabeth walked up to the counter once again, forcing herself to give the man a smile.

"Hello, how may I help you ladies?" He asked. Annabeth could clearly see past his smile. The loathing an envy in his eyes kind of shocked Annabeth. There was absolutely nothing envious about her. She _had_ to be the least glamorous celebrity ever. "I have a question about our rooms," She showed him the key. "What type exactly is it? And why does it not have the room number?"

He stared at her as if she were a stupid blonde. Annabeth's blood boiled. She didn't appreciate being thought of as an airheaded blonde bimbo. She used to hate her hair, but now she just accepted it. But she had once loathed the color of her hair so much that she'd gone so far as to dye it another color. I hadnt been a pretty result. But then she learned that it would surprise people even more if she became a successful blonde.

"You're both in the presidential suite. I thought Mr. Chiron told you that already."

"Obviously he didn't," She muttered, snatching the card away. "But thank you anyway." At least she knew the presidential suite was on the top floor. It was on it's own level, taking up the whole last two floors. Annabeth honestly thought that was ridiculous. She would've been fine with staying in a regular hotel room; With late nights on sets she would've had to stay in her trailer anyways. But he appreciate the kind gesture from Chiron.

"I guess we're sharing a room, Hazel," Annabeth said, going to the elevator. Everything just yelled pretentious and cavalier about this place; it was sickening.

* * *

><p>"No." Chiron barely looked up from his paper work, sighing. "Annabeth, I do not have time for one of you r tantrums. We start filming tomorrow," he checked his watch, "-technically today- and I have much more on my plate." He continued rifling through files, ignoring her once again. So he did know why she was here.<p>

She cleared her throat, crossing her arms and leaning on her hip. Okay, she had to admit she _was_ having a little tantrum, but didn't she have a right? Chiron has worked with worse before. '_Or maybe he just doesn't expect the same from you..._'

"Chiron, I'm sorry. I just really don't want...I just can't- ugh. Please don't make me stay in that hotel room. I can take any other. Just..._please_ Chiron."

Sighing, he took off his glasses and spun in his chair to face her. "Annabeth, our hotel budget is already stretched to the limit. If you want to stay in another hotel room, you're going to have to pay for it yourself." He gave her a knowing look. Although she couldn't hear it, it was implied in the tone of his voice. '_and you and I both you you can't afford that..._' Annabeth hung her head. She was being ungrateful, really. Chiron was practically paying for everything.

Although it was completely unnecessary, Chiron had been like a second father to her since she was a little girl. Actually, he was more of a father than her father was. He was like...the Angelina Jolie of the acting world. He knew potential when he saw it, and if you happened to have trouble at home or something like that, he would take it upon himself to take you under his wing. Annabeth was just lucky enough to meet him at such a young age.

She nodded slowly, wrapping her arms around herself. She had to be the poorest actress around. Because of that, she sort of had a reputation among the other celebrities, who took it upon themselves to exclude her from the picture. She was just lucky that Chiron had hired actors that didn't care about if she were poor or not and had just as many problems as she did.

"So you got the presidential suite for the five of us?" She asked. He nodded. "For the main characters, really. Nico and Leo are just tagging along." If it was just for some of the main protagonists, Annabeth was glad that Hazel was one of them or she'd had been stuck in a hotel room with three guys, two of which she barely knew and one she hated.

"And, doesn't he presidential have many rooms and two different hallways? One for the girls, one for the boys. It shouldn't be hard to avoid him."It seemed like Chiron had taken all of this into consideration. Maybe he knew Annabeth would protest. Chiron really was a mastermind.

"Fine, but don't expect me to-" A knock on the door cut her off. Chiron stood up and walked to the hotel room door, opening it.

Annabeth's breath caught in her throat and she was only able to form one coherent thought: shit. What was Apollo doing here? No, no , no, no , no! This was going to ruin everything! Why did the fates hate her?

Annabeth tried to become unnoticed and blend into the wall, but of course, Tyche wasn't in a good mood today. Apollo grinned, making his way over to Annabeth. He hugged her, ruffling her hair. "Whatsup, Annie? Long time no see."

She forced a smile. "Yeah, you too, Apollo? What brings you to Chicago?"

"Aw, nothing much, just visiting my favorite uncle," he leaned in, lowering his voice, " And I'm also on vacation. The media can be very annoying. So what better than help direct a movie!" He grinned. Annabeth stared in disbelief at Chiron, looking for confirmation. He nodded.

"Wow..." she said. "So I guess I'll be seeing more of you over the next months?"She asked, dreading the answer. "Yep."

SHIT! What if he saw Thalia already? Then she'll know that Annabeth lied and she'll be mad, ad then she'll demand to be told who Annabeth was with yesterday. Forcing herself to breath and stop hyperventilating, she grabbed Apollo's hand. Catching both males off guard, she smiled sweetly. "Chiron, I, uh, need to borrow Apollo for a second."

Without waiting for an answer- or a protest- she practically grabbed Apollo into the hall. She automatically dropped his hand and started pacing. "Annabeth, what's wrong?" He asked, putting a hand on his shoulder. She shied away from his touch.

She really was overreacting (geez, how many times was she going to say that?). What was the big deal? She told one small lie to three people? Why was it eating her up like this? Kelli. She had seen her kissing Percy. If anything, she had probably heard ANnabeth said I love you. What if she told Tammi? This whole "Percabeth" idea is spinning out of control and it needs to be stopped.

She had an idea.

Drawing in a shaky breath, she said, "I need you to help me with something very important."

"With what? Annabeth, what's wrong?"

A group of girls passed by, giggling and whispering, pointing at them. She grabbed Apollo's face and kissed him, waiting till the group past by to stop for air. "Annabeth, what are you doing?" He demanded, wiping his lips.

"Yes, I know its weird, but please help me. You're like a brother and this feels like incest, but what the press doesn't know wont hurt them."

He ran a hand through his perfect hair, leaning against the opposite wall farthest away from her. "So basically you want to fake date me for publicity. You know that's sick, right?"

"Yes, I know! But I'm not using you for publicity. I just need you to break a rumor that's been spreading around. Please," she begged. He thought for a moment. "You know I love you, Annie, but not in that-"

"Yes, yes, I know! Just please help me! You just have to hold my hand or wrap your arm around me in public. And I promise, I'll tell you when I'm planning on kissing you." She lowered her voice, looking over Apollo's shoulder. "Like...now." Quickly pulling him closer to her, she smashed their lips together, only stopping when she heard someone clear their throat uncomfortably.

Pretending to be surprised, she looked up wide-eyed. She didn't want to, but she forced herself to look in Percy's eyes. He didn't seem to recognize her until she looked up. His eyes turned visibly darker. Actually, he almost looked angry. But he had nothing to be angry about! What the hell?!

He should know that Annabeth would never hook up with someone that quickly. Shouldn't he know that she was doing this for the sake of both of their images?"Annabeth," he said calmly, nodding in acknowledgement at Apollo. His jaw was set and he looked about ready to punch a wall.

She untangled herself from Apollo, feeling pretty pissed herself. But why? She was doing this by her own decisions. She shouldn't be mad at someone for their own opinion. Even Percy.

But, still, why was he acting like this? There was no logical reason other than...jealously. She bit the inside of her lip. "You're, uh, blocking Chiron's door." He said awkwardly.

She quickly moved out of the way, watching him knock and then open the door. Before it closed, Annabeth was once again met with sea green eyes. Even if it was only for a second, she noticed that the look in his eyes changed.

...Hurt.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:**

**I am laughing at how cliche this is! Its sickening. But, as long as you guys love it and are happy with it, so am I. I guess. **

**Anyways, I'm sorry I took a while updating ( A week and a couple of days isn't so bad, is it?) but school started again and everything's just shoved in my face, so...ya. That's that. But actually, most of the days that past by, I was semi-free and didn't update out of pure laziness.**

******SPOILER**** Next chapter you can look forward to some more Percabeth and explanations...I think actually, it depends on if I feel like it. Because I might just change my mind and decide to leave you in more suspense and with questions. Idk...depends on how many reviews i get for this chapter ( even if it sucked).**

**Just trolling! I'm not that mean. If not explanations, definitely Percabeth.**

**Random Question (I'm running out!): When is your birthday? Mine is March 23. It'd be cool if we had the same. **

**Review!**

**~Greekfreak302**


	19. Chapter 19

**Disclaimer: No one is as awesome as Uncle Rick. Especially me. Characters belong to him.**

**Warning: slight cursing.**

* * *

><p><em>"What is your problem?!" she demanded, following him. He continued walking, ignoring her calls. <em>

_"PERCY JACKSON, YOU BETTER GET YOUR ASS RIGHT HERE OR I SWEAR I'LL SLIT YOUR THROAT IN YOUR SLEEP! I KNOW WHERE YOU LIVE!" Annabeth smiled in triumph when he finally slowed down. _

_Most of the people in the halls were gawking at her as if she had yelled she would castrate him. They kept looking between her and the retreating figure, wondering what would happen next. She glared and most of them scrambled out of her way, pretending like they were going about their business. But she could see them peek over their papers at her or their reflection in their locker mirrors. It didn't matter. It never mattered to her. _

_In long strides, she was beside him within seconds, her hand gripping his arm as hard as she could. He could easily escape her grip, and they both knew it. But he didn't make any attempt to escape. _

_"Why are you ignoring me?" She asked softly. His eyes darted around. "Can we go somewhere else?" He asked under his breath. She shook her head stubbornly. She didn't care if people saw them together in public. He obviously did. Maybe she could use that to her advantage._

_"Percy, what is your problem? You've been ignoring since yesterday. Why?" He once again hesitated, looking around. Did he really even have to look? It was obvious everyone was watching them; it just made her more pissed with the fact that he wanted her to be his secret._

_He grabbed her arm and gently tugged her to the side. "Answer me or I swear I will kiss you in front of everyone." To her dismay, he paled, looking as if that was the worst thing in the world. "Oh," she said dejectedly. "I didn't know kissing me- much less being seen with me- was that bad."_

_"Look, can we please go somewhere private? Just a few minutes ago you were threatening to kill me. I'm sure teachers are already looking for the culprit. So I advise you to - oh, look, there goes one now." He quickly grabbed her arm and ducked into a smelly janitorial closet. _

_"What is wrong with you?" She demanded the second the door closed. She was normally one to beat around the bush, but at the moment her anxiety was running so high she had no idea what to do._

_"There's nothing wrong with me," he stated blandly. There it was again. He was shutting her out . He'd been doing it since Friday night after the party and..._

_The party._

_"Is it about the bash Jake Mason threw Saturday night?" She asked. She took his silence as a yes. "What is your problem?" She demanded, suddenly defensive again. "I went home after my third drink."_

_He finally looked at her, conflict written all over his face. "It was who you went home with..." _

_Her eyebrows knitted. As far as she knew, she walked home. And then someone came and offered her help. But she still didn't know what this had to do with Percy. _

_"I can tell you're still confused. So let me explain; a certain guy was bragging in the locker room about how he ...did something with you." He didnt sound mad. Actually, he sounded a bit...disapointed. No, his calm face was forced. She notcied him shift from foot to foot, not exactly sure of what to do with his hands, his face revealing a wave of emotion from time to time. _

_Her face immediately flushed. In rage, or from embarrassment, she would never know. "WHAT?! WHO?" She remembered a guy giving her a drive home, and then he tried to ...do things. Even in her drunken state, she was perfectly capable of judo flipping him and threatening his life._

_"Michael Varus."_

_She silently seethed, balling her hands into fists. Her nails dug into her palms, drawing a little blood, but she hardly noticed. _

_And then, as quick as it came, the rage was gone. A tiny nagging at the back of her head returned and she let it, feeling it gnawing at her sides. "You actually believed him?" She asked quietly. _

_He seemed surprised by the question. "Um...yeah. You were acting weird and I assumed-"_

_"Exactly. You all assumed that Michael Varus got 'perfect Annabeth Chase' in bed, and suddenly, my reputation is trash. But no one asked for my side of the story, did they? I mean, that makes so much sense because he's a stupid jock and I'm a nobody. Therefore my opinion dosent matter." She cocked her head, smiling like an airhead "Right?" she asked with fake cheery smile. _

_He looked down. "Look at me," she said. He obliged. _

_"What happened to you? To us? You finally get the balls to ask me to be your girlfriend and suddenly you're ashamed? You didn't seem to be be ashamed to be seen with me when you were crushing on me from a best friend's point of view, did you? No. And then everything's turned upside down and my dream is turn into a nightmare. Why? And why does it matter what rumors are going around if you know that _I love you_?"_

_He didn't answer. She waited patiently, watching him coolly, not letting her calm facade crumble. Her mind was reeling, and she wanted so bad to kiss him, and at the same time beat the crap out of him._

_"I don't...Annabeth, too many people expect too many things from me. Some people have a certain image and expect me to fulfill it ,and others...they don't care what I do. Either way, I'm a screw up."_

_"So this is what it's all about? Your image. Wow, I never realized how shallow you are..." she said, laughing in disbelief. _

_"No, it's not that simple. If I...tell people about us, they'll give you hell. And they'll...Annabeth, I don't want you to get hurt because of me. I know how you feel about me, and I feel that same way. Its just...not yet." She searched his eyes, looking for any indication of a lie. She saw nothing._

_And, like an idiot, she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around his neck, burying her face in the crook of his neck. "That's strike two. Hurt me again and I'll beat the crap out of you." she mumbled, breathing in his scent of chlorine. _

_And like that, everything was forgotten. _

* * *

><p><em>"What's this I hear about your Prom date?" Percy dropped into the seat next to her. She looked at him disinterestedly, wanted to return to her book on architecture. But she set it aside, sensing an argument brewing.<em>

_"What about it?" For a second she was wondering why he wasn't looking around for any wandering eyes like usual, but the she remembered that they where in a secluded area in the back of the library, where she sat, trying to get her report finished. _

_Her response only seemed to push him over the edge. "I mean, why the hell are you going with Joe Bob?" _

_She scrunched her nose in disgust. That name seriously fit him, classifying him as a stoner- which, he was. And everyone knew it. "Where the hell did you get that from?" she asked. _

_He stared at her. "You're going to the Prom with Joe Bob, right?" _

_"Hell no!" She was glad that there was no one else around, especially the librarian. She'd already received dirty looks because she was too engrossed in her book before- as in, yelling things when something surprising happened- but now she'd definitely get kicked out. _

_She sighed. "Percy, what did I tell you about listening to rumors-"_

_"But you _are_ going with someone else, right?" She remained silent, longingly gazing at her book. "Annabeth?" There was a slight tremor in his tone. She forced herself to look back at him. "You don't..." she didn't know how to continue without provoking him. If she says no, he'll know she's lying, and if she says yes, he'll flip out. So, really, she was trapped in a lose-lose situation._

_After going through a million ways to approach the situation, she decided to fuck it and just spit it out. "I'm going with Bryce Lawrence." He stared at her. Then, it seemed to sink in what she just said. "Why? When were you planning on telling me?" he said harshly. She actually had no thoughts of Bryce Lawrence, other than the fact he was a guy who asked her. But telling Percy that would just be pushing her luck.  
><em>

_"Percy, if I can be your secret, you can be mine too. If you thought I as going alone just to watch you dance with Calypso, you were wrong." His mouth opened, unsure how to answer. "And, yes, I know about you and Calypso. Did you not think word would get around? And, when were you planning on telling me?" She didn't really have anything but envy for Calypso. She was a nice person, good-natured, and down to earth, along with drop dead gorgeous. As much as she wanted to hate her, she couldn't._

_"So this is how it's going to be? Getting back at each other and keeping secrets?" He sighed, running his hand through his hair.  
><em>

_She stared at a spot on the table, slightly zoning out. She didn't want to look at him. "I wouldn't have said yes to being your girlfriend if I'd known what I'm getting myself into."  
><em>

_"What are you saying?"_

_"I...I don't know, Percy. What is this? This is not a relationship, if you're stupid enough to call it that. I can't even stand next to you in the halls, Percy. Or when anyone else is around."_

_"I thought we went over this already."_

_"Yeah, and I thought you were going to ask me to the Prom." She hugged herself, willing herself to float away, anywhere but here. "Seriously? Annabeth, I know for a fact you don't care about petty things like that."_

_"So?" She asked angrily, cutting her gaze back at Percy. He seemed surprised at her sudden anger. "You don't get it, do you? You're supposedly my boyfriend, yet I have to share you with the world. If I want to kiss you, I can't because someone might see. It's not about the prom itself. I just want one fairy tale moment where everything is okay, my Prince Charming is actually _mine_, and I don't have to worry about everything going wrong and I lose you."_

_"Annabeth..." He reached out for her hand but she reluctantly pulled it back, resting it in her hand. "Percy, Its fine. If you want to go with Calypso, you can. Just...if anything happens between you, promise me you'll rip the band-aid off quickly, okay? I'm strong; I can handle it."_

_"Calypso and I are not, and will neve-"  
><em>

_She laughed humorlessly. "You know, I think this happens to be the second time I thought you were into someone else. Why is that?" _

_"I'm going for three. I need to get you back and even the score." He gave a small smile. "What? When did I ever-"_

_"Grover Underwood, Jason Grace, Narcissus and now I may add Bryce Lawrence."_

_"What? Jason and Grover never really counted. You were just extremely thick headed as a child. You still are, but a little less." When he first met her, he thought that Grover was her boyfriend. When they were 14, he punched Jason in the face (and broke his nose) because he thought he was flirting with her- he wasnt. They were just really good friends ( mainly through the connection of THalia). When she demanded what his problem was, he stupidly stated that he was watching out for her in case he tried anything._

_He pointed an accusing finger at her. "You never denied Narcissus." She shrugged. "He was hot. But he wasn't my type. And, besides, he must be like, 30 years old now. And his name isn'__t Narcissus."_

_"Then what is it?" She stayed silent. "Ha! You don't even know."_

_"So?"_

_"I'm still on my second. I'll wait for my third."_

_"Yeah right."_

_"No ,I'm serious. When you least expect it, somewhere in the near future, I'll completely catch you off guard and get you back with a new girlfriend. I promise," he said jokingly. "I'll call it my project. It'll be named the: See what shade of envy Annabeth Chase will turn."_

_"What?"_

_He snorted. "Please. Do you think I'm stupid? I can see how pissed you get when I even talk to a girl thats not you. Especially when they flirt with me." He held open his arms, pouting slightly. It was a clear sign of forgivness._

_"So, you're going to the Prom with someone else and you're ashamed of me. What else could a girl ask for?" _

_***End Of Flashback****_

It always amazed Annabeth how quick Percy can get out of a situation with her. It infuriated her to no end, yet he somehow had her practically eating out of his hand.

She had no idea why the memories were coming back. They resurfaced so quickly, she was left with a slight sense of vertigo. Maybe it was seeing Percy's face after he saw her with Apollo...

She leaned on a wall by the swimming pool, trying to regain her senses. Maybe she should go back to the suite. She just saw Percy by Chiron's office, so maybe he wouldn't be there for a while.

But something possessed her to go into the pool room, sitting on a bench out of sight of someone who'd be looking through a window. A sign near the door said whoever's trespassing after hours would be fined ( gods knew she couldn't afford that) and she did not want to face the wrath of the hotel.

And yet, she still stayed. She hugged her knees, resting her chin on them, staring at the water. It sort of put her in a trance, reminding her of things she wanted to forget. Yet her feet still didn't want to move.

Why did Percy Jackson come into her life? She could have said no to showing the new kid around at camp- everything would have been different. Percy was like a drug- she new he was bad but she couldn't stay away. She was addicted. Those years she was away was kind of like hell for her, however cliche that sounded.

She bit her lip. Grabbing a pen out of her pocket, she started scribbling on her hand.

* * *

><p>"Oh. Erm...Hi," She said awkwardly.<p>

Percy barely glanced up at her. He was reading something on his laptop, looking extremely stressed out and tired. It was about five a.m. They both knew Chiron would have a fit if they come in to the studio late and looking exhausted, but that didn't seem to matter to any of them.

He waved his hand toward the kitchen, a few feet away from where she was standing. She assumed that that was meant to be for her. "Percy? What's wrong?"

He looked at her, and Anabeth finally saw how horrible he really looked (he still looked handsome enough for her to ravish him on the spot, but still far from how he normally looked). His hair was mussed, and disheveled, falling into his (still) dark eyes. His face was pale and grim, as if he'd seen something horrible.

"Huh?" He asked. Annabeth's eyebrows knitted in concern. "Oh, I was just reading...things. Don't freak out. It was nothing important." Reluctantly, she nodded. She turned to start walking away, but he called her back.

"So...you and Apollo, huh?" She bit the inside of her mouth. The thought of her and Apollo seriously revolted her. Apollo is not- and never will be- her boyfriend. But Percy didn't know that.

"Um..yeah."

"Oh, I didn't know. I wouldn't have..." _Kissed you a few days ago had I known_. It wasn't said, but it sure was implied. She nodded slowly. "So I guess we both did something we shouldn't have..."

Percy uncomfortably shifted in his seat. "So where were you last night? I know its not my place to ask, but I thought-"

"I was working on a new song," she said quickly. Whatever Percy thought she was doing last night, she needed him to stop. She didn't want him thinking she was...like that.

"You don't seem so happy about it." She shrugged. "Its about someone that I'm kind of close to." She pulled her hair int a ponytail, figuring that she probably looked like crap.

"Hey Percy, do you want to...go get breakfast?" They had a couple of hours before they had to report to the studio. He gave her an odd look and she stumbled over her words. "I,um, I mean we both need a...distraction. And I thought why not beca-"

He smiled. "Sure, Wise Girl. As long as you don't talk my head off."

* * *

><p><strong>AN**

**Yes, I am aware that this chapter was kind of missing the Percabeth I promised. But there was a slight explanation ( You kind of have to squint and look at their words closely, but its there). I guess we're at the point where everything is in riddles (idk). For some reason I'm in a vague mood.**

**I'm sorry if there are mistakes. I was kind of rushing so I could update this as a birthday present. Happy birthday RandomFanChick22!**

**Thank you for all of the positive reviews and support!**

**Someone asked me a while ago if Annabeth can be a singer ( I'm too lazy to go back in the reviews to see who). I know I'm kind of late, but when I was writing Annabeth's POV, it reminded me of a song I liked, so yeah. **

**Not really sure where I'm going with this story anymore, but there will be a few more chapters. I have a gift for procrastination. I know you all probably hate me for not letting the Percabeth ship sail, but it will. Soon. **

**I'm really sorry for the sucky chapter. **

**Review**

**~Greekfreak302**


	20. Chapter 20

**Disclaimer: No one is as awesome as Uncle Rick. Especially me. Characters belong to him.**

**Warning: slight cursing**

* * *

><p>He stopped laughing, a guarded expression replacing the mirth on his face. Annabeth started tapping the table, regretting that she'd even ask that question. But if he can ask about Apollo, why can't she ask about Kelli?<p>

When he spoke, the lightness of his tone was suddenly gone. Their conversation had taken a turn for the worst. Just being there, laughing and talking to Percy like nothing happened made Annabeth completely forget about her problems. And then suddenly she'd asked Percy about Kelli with no thought and now...their issues were taking a huge toll on the mood.

"Kelli is... she's not exactly my girlfriend." He answered carefully, looking around. Annabeth bit her lip. She almost yelled _'then why the hell did she threaten me like a jealous girlfriend_' but she knew it would be a bad idea to. Percy as already on edge for some reason and saying something like that would definitely push him over the edge.

She cleared her throat. "Then, um...what exactly is she?"

He stared at her for a long moment, his dark eyes staring at her with such intensity she shuddered. He looked down. "A project." he said so quietly she thought she misheard him.

A flicker of hope surged through her. It soon turned into a forest fire, blazing inside of her. No. She couldn't allow herself to think like that. She quickly extinguished the flames before hope got too big, making her believe she actually might have a chance.

Percy was watching her carefully, his eyes catching every detail of her expression. "O-oh." Her voice was way too high for her liking. She cleared her throat again. "As in-"

"Yes," He interrupted. "She was just a friend, and then Tammi came around, telling Kelli about how you're...after me. And she told me she was going to help and be my girlfriend. The funny thing is, I remember saying that that was crazy and I should talk to you like a _normal_ person, but somehow I ended up getting roped up into her plan. She...she's very convincing." He sighed, looking down. " And things got out of hand. I think...I think she likes me. And, as you know, she's not the right person to mess with."

"So a fake relationship turned into a real one." She summed up. "And you're not really sure how to put her down easy." He nodded. "She has a lot of power and she can destroy me if she wants to with just a flick of her hand. It also doesn't help that Tammi is her step-sister. Together, they can practically do anything." He ran his hands through his hair. "It's all a bunch of bullshit. Sometimes I wonder how life would have been if I didn't..." He looked up at her.

"Didn't what?" She asked uneasily. "...Didn't make the wrong decisions."

"Oh." She realized that she'd been tapping the whole time, a mantra of the same thing in Morse code. '_I love you...' _After coming to this realization, she quickly stopped.

"Why did you look so stressed earlier this morning?" She asked, completely changing the subject. His eyes grew impossibly dark, darker than she's ever seen them before. He cleared his throat, taking a long drink from his cup of coffee.

"It was about Poseidon," he said after a long pause. She waited. He didn't elaborate. He checked his watch, and a smirk grew on his face. "Annabeth, I think you're late..."

"What?" Shit. It was 9:07. They were due at the studio at 7:45!

"What do you mean _I'm_ late? You are too!" He shook his head. "No I'm not. I'm not supposed to be in until day three. But you...you're late." She leaned across the table and hit him. "Why didn't you tell me before I asked you to breakfast?"

He shrugged. "And what? Turn down a date with Annabeth Chase? Not an option," he smirked. Her face turned unbearably hot. It was ridiculous how he still had that effect on her. '_Stop it_,' she thought. '_he's just kidding. You're only friends._'

"Right. So, because I'm late, you just volunteered yourself to drive me to the studio."

"I don't have a car here!" he protested. She put a hand on her hip, staring at him sternly. He sighed. "Fine, I do, but I can't drive you. I'm busy today."

"Doing what?" she asked. He shrugged, looking off, getting that look in his eyes again. "Okay, sorry I asked. But _pleassee_, Percy." He sighed, getting up. "Fine."

"Yay," she cheered victoriously, pecking him on the cheek and running out of the cafe.

* * *

><p><strong>Percy's POV<strong>

How could he be so stupid? Why would he tell her that? She knows way too much now. Shit. He hardly noticed his foot bouncing up and down uncontrollably as he bit his lip, drawing blood.

They'd made a deal. Seal his lips until the big interview and no one would get hurt. Especially Annabeth. But then, like the idiot he was, he decided to tell her, the number one person they were keeping a secret from! What the hell was wrong with him!

"Percy?" Annabeth put hand on his shoulder, staring at him with concern clear in her eyes. "Huh?"

"I'm ready," She said awkwardly, looking like she wanted to say something. But instead, she slung her bag across her shoulder and walked out of their hotel room door. Percy reluctantly followed, grabbing his keys on the way out.

It was still weird sharing a hotel room. He'd gone to see Chiron about it last night but obviously Annabeth beat him to the chase (**A/N: Get it...Annabeth..to the Chase. Pun not intended. Ignore me**). Even if he didn't initially get what he wanted on that short trip to Chiron's, he did overhear something interesting.

It was weird. It seemed like, in only a month since seeing Annabeth for the first time in four years, all his forgotten problems suddenly found an interest in him once again and decided to pile up on him once again. He was suffocating, and yet, he still stayed. He didn't exactly know why, when he could just run away and hide like he always did. But now he knew it was time to stop running, to untangle himself from this mess. He was determined to fix things.

Especially with Annabeth.

Apparently he was doing a horrible job. In telling the truth, he'd only managed pushing her away more. Maybe that was why he stopped telling her the truth a long time ago.

"Wow," Annabeth's voice broke the silence and cut through his thoughts. He glanced over at her. "What?" he asked. She was looking through the window, her hands tapping softly on her lap.

"I can almost feel you putting up your walls and shutting me out. There's obviously more you have to tell me but don't know how." Her stormy eyes turned to him. "Am I right?" The question remained unanswered.

Of course she was right. They both knew it. Annabeth was way too smart for her own good. She still looked at him expectantly. He sighed. "You don't really want an answer."

"Yes I do," She said softly. "Whatever you're hiding is already eating you up. What's the harm in telling me? I mean, honesty is the least you could do for me." Annabeth winced as soon as the words left her mouth. He glanced at her sharply.

"No. Don't do that, Annabeth. You already know I feel bad but I'm not the only reason our relationship failed. So don't give me the 'honesty' bullshit." He said, trying to maintain his anger.

"You are the reason it ended, though," She said softly, looking at her hands in her lap. "Don't you think I fucking know that?" he snapped. "First Poseidon left , and then I had to deal with-"

"Wait, what?" Annabeth asked, looking at him. Shit. Why can't he just learn to keep his mouth _shut_? He remained silent, setting his jaw. "Percy, _look at me_." she demanded. He glanced at her a couple of times, trying to focus on his driving.

"Y-you said something about Poseidon leaving."

He shrugged. "There's nothing to say. Poseidon left a few days before our, um, date." He could almost see the gears turning in her head. He was surprised smoke wasn't coming from her ears.

"But why di-"

"End of discussion," He snapped. He didn't want to talk about Poseidon now, nor did he want to ever. Annabeth nodded but he could see it in her eyes. They both knew the conversation wasn't over. She would definitely bring it up again.

"So, uh, what rumor do you need to break?" He asked, trying to break the tension. Annabeth's baffled expression quickly turned into realization as her face paled. "What?" She asked tightly.

"You need Apollo to help you break a rumor. I would have been happy to help." He said, carefully watching her expression. But her face remained apathetic. "I don't know what you'r-"

"Annabeth, don't be a hypocrite. Weren't you just lecturing me about honesty?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. She remained silent, looking away. Her finger was now tapping at an almost inhuman speed.

"You know, I hate when you're right. Then you get a big head." He patiently waited for his answer. "Fine. I needed Apollo to, um, fake date me because...I hate the whole 'Percabteth' thing."

"_What?_"

"I need Apollo to help knock it out of everyone's mind. I need to sink that ship. I'm helping the both of us. And maybe Kelli...right?" He nodded numbly. So Annabeth was only doing this because she didn't want people thinking they were a couple. That kind of stung.

"Oh."

"Kind of like you and Kelli, in a sense, except I wasn't trying to get rid of my- err, someone's unwanted attention that you didn't have," she said pointedly. "I was only trying to ward off the fangirls."

"You know what I find kind of funny?" He said to no one in particular. "We ended things- shut up, we both contributed in our break up," he said before she could say anything, "- we completely stopped talking to each other. I started sleeping around and you-what is it that you did?" He asked.

She shrugged. "Oh! Right! You stopped studying and actually _experienced_ life. Was that why you got kicked out of college?"

"I didn't-"

"Hey, shut up," he said jokingly. "My turn to speak." She crossed her arms but allowed him to speak nonetheless. "And through my good looks and your letting go of your inhibitions, we both ended up here, in the Hollywood life. Although a completely different world, a completely different time, hell, a completely different _me_, you still haunt me. Sometimes I feel like it'd be better if I'd stayed rather than leave. If I'm completely honest-you know, like the honesty you wanted-, I just have that day implanted in my skull- you know, the day I...was a total douchebag, and I feel like shit all over again. And I have to live with that, Annabeth. I guess now I know how Poseidon feels. You're my biggest what if."

Annabeth hugged herself. "Is that your version of an apology?" He shrugged. "...Yes. I don't want you hating me Annabeth. While we obviously have some type of silent truce, I can see it in your eyes that you still have a grudge against me."

"Well, you did _ruin_ the greatest day of my life and you kind of ruined my life, haunting my every move for years. I don't think you understand that I love, um, have loved you for years. How do you think I felt after you decided that you wanted nothing to do with me on a whim? It took me seven months to get over you," she seemed like she was about to say more but she suddenly stopped, biting her lip.

Percy didn't know that he had that much of an affect on Annabeth. "Well, because of our mistakes, both of our lives are hell. What are we supposed to do?"

"I...I don't really know." Annabeth said. It was a rarity that Annabeth didn't know, and when that blue moon occurred, it meant you were screwed. "We sure as hell can't forget it, I know that for sure. Look at how good it did us." He nodded.

"Why...why are we stopping?" She asked, looking around. She seemed to actually forgotten where they were going. "Because we're here," He said. "I think you might want to run if you don't want to be two hours late."

* * *

><p>"Mr Jackson, I would like to speak with you about-"<p>

Percy put a hand up, silencing the guy. By the official tone of this man, the briefcase, and the crisp suit, Percy assumed that he was not a fan, and, in fact,a lawyer. "The discussion of Poseidon can wait. I'm here for my, er...friend." He wasn't sure he'd call Annabeth his friend (she was so much more to him than that) but the man didn't know anything other than the matters he was sent to Percy to.

"But we need to-"

"_It can wait_," he snapped. He pinched the bridge of his nose. " How'd you even get in?" He was assured that they had tight security, no one but the actors and whoever wad on the list allowed to enter. It was efficient in keeping fans and paparazzi out- especially lawyers. He had to admit that he was camping out here to hide from everyone ( despite the fact that everyone seemed to be here) and think. Something he hadn't gotten a chance to do lately.

"That isn't important. What we need to talk about is your inheritance from-"

"Shut up!" He hissed looking around. People were bustling around, hardly casting him a glance. No one seemed to notice- or care- about what they were talking about, but there could still be some wandering ears around.

"Look, we can talk about this later, or never for all I care. Just go away." He said. "Mr Jackson, I do not think I am stressing the importance of the situation enough. There may not_ be_ a later. Mr. Poseidon requests that I-"

"You know what? Fuck this. Fuck him. You can tell him I said that. I don't care about his crap. He's just trying to make it up for the years he lost. You can tell him that too." With that, Percy stood up and stormed off, unsure of where he was going but certain he would go far enough away from that lawyer.

Before he could even make it 20 yards, he was grabbed by the arm and yanked into an empty dressing room. "What was that about?"

He squinted, adjusting to the sudden lack of light. He heard a scoff and the lights turned on, revealing Annabeth wearing a boring grey dress and her hair wrapped into a tight bun that made her look like a librarian.

"Are you going to answer the question or not?" She asked, crossing her arms.

"Were you snooping?" He asked, paling. She shrugged. "I didn't really hear anything, only something about Poseidon. It was obvious that was his lawyer though. What's going on?" He was debating about telling her. She'd probably scold him for turning his back on his father during his 'great time of need' if he told her. And if he didn't tell her, then she'd definitely find out on her own and it'd be worse for everyone.

"Um...-"

"Fine, since most of your current problems have to deal with Poseidon, explain. Why did he leave you?"

"If I knew, wouldn'-" he was ready to start yelling, but Annabeth seemed to have noticed her mistake. "Okay, I'm sorry, that was insensitive. You told me earlier that Poseidon left you on that day before our date."

"Yeah," he stated simply. She groaned in frustration. "Fine. Poseidon made his decision. It was too much for him to be a father so he just left, like a coward. Maybe I inherit my fear of commitment from him. I hold nothing against him for his decisions." Annabeth gave him a look, clearly stating she didnt believe him.

"Um, isn't your break over? He asked?" He could hear a few voices calling for Annabeth Chase. Annabeth cursed, biting her lip. "This conversation is not over." She quickly left.

"Consider me warned, Chase," he murmured.

* * *

><p><strong>Annabeth's POV<strong>

She ignored him, burrowing her face deeper into the soft plush of the couch. Percy had come in the hotel room, calling her name, trying to get her to go somewhere with him and some of the others.

"What?" She finally asked, pulling the blanket off of herself. "The group and I are going to get a few drinks. Coming?"

She rolled her eyes. "No thank you, Percy. I'd rather read." He plucked the book from her hands, trying to read it. She forced herself not to laugh at the fact he was reading it upside down. Maybe his dyslexia was acting out.

"Seriously? You'd rather _read_ than explore Chicago?" He asked. She rolled her eyes, grabbing the book back. "I believe that is what I said. You should try reading sometimes." He made a face.

"C'mon, Annabeth."

"No, Percy. " Huffing, she pulled the blanket back over her head and turned on the flashlight. "Go away. I had a long day and all I want to do is relax." Percy muttered something along the lines of 'you call reading relaxing?' and pulled the blanket away once again.

"We're just getting celebratory drinks. We'll be back before you know it."

"Yeah, unless we all get completely hammered. And what are you celebrating for? I was the one who was called in today." Only her, a few other actors and a ton of extras were called in.

"Do you always have to be such a wet blanket?" He asked.

"My answer is no, Percy." She turned so her back was to him. "If you don't get up right now I'll kiss you." He threatened.

"Hmm, tempting, but I'd rather be in the company of my book." She said. He sighed. "You leave me no choice." He grabbed her by the waist and dragged her off the couch. Before he threw her over his shoulder, he pecked her on the lips, making her a little dizzy.

She didn't even bother struggling. "Put me down, Percy." She huffed. Was it too much to ask to be left in peace for once? "Sorry Wise Girl. They're waiting in the car." He started walking to the door with her thrown over his shoulders like a sack of potatoes.

"I can't go out in this!" she said. She was clad in baggy sweatpants that barely hung on her hips and a loose v-neck t-shirt that kept sliding up her torso. He sighed, grabbing a blanket and throwing it over her. "Silena has an outfit for you in the car. Somehow she knew you'd decline our peaceful offer." She huffed, but kept quiet anyways.

"...Percy?" She asked quietly. "Hmm?" He asked.

"Can we...can we forget about...everything? At least just for tonight?" She could almost feel the smile in his tone.

"Only for my Wise Girl." She couldn't help the smile growing on her face.

* * *

><p><strong><span>AN:**

**I am aware this chapter sucked BIG TIME, and I really am sorry about that. I had this chapter finished by Tuesday, but right before I went to save it, something happened and everything disappeared and I'm super bummed about that. This happened twice.**

**So because of that, I kind of lost my motivation to finish this chapter, but I read your reviews and it really made my day, so I thought the least I could do was update. **

**Thank you to all of you who keep saying I'm a good writer ( even thought I really don't feel like it) and my story is awesome ( it really isn't compared to some of the other fanfictions here) because you're my motivation. **

**amalik1701: Happy belated birthday! I hope you're okay... I want to update faster as a present to you and everyone else who keeps lifting my spirits. **

**Okay, so a lot of you are saying you're confused and I'm really sorry about that. I guess I'm not that great at explanations. Percy was never really ashamed of Annabeth, but it was more of him trying to protect her from his 'friends' and she kind of takes it the wrong way. He's always been kind of messed up with all of the issues in his life, especially with Gabe and Poseidon. **

**In the flashback last chapter, Prom was coming up and Annabeth felt even more separated from him, she noticed that they were more secretive, so she figured she'd get back at him with a Prom date. Percy was planning on asking her, and then Calypso asked him and things got messy. Does that at least explain it a little?**

**Random question: what's your favorite fanfiction ( in this fandom)?**

**Keep reading and review!  
><strong>

**PS: Over 21,000 veiws?! *Squeals***

**~greekfreak302**


	21. Chapter 21

**Disclaimer: No one is as awesome as Uncle Rick. Especially me. Characters belong to him.**

**Warning: slight cursing**

* * *

><p>"What?" Annabeth asked, her eyes widening. "Here? Now?"<p>

Silena rolled her eyes, shoving the small dress and heels towards Annabeth. "Where else, Genius? We're about to arrive. Put it on _now_." she ordered, leaving no room for argument. Annabeth looked around the crowded limo of nine people (the Stolls counted as one ), but none of them were paying any attention to her or Silena.

None of them were paying attention, but she still didn't feel comfortable around mostly strangers, most of which were guys.

She stood up, hitting her head on the roof, and slipped off her shirt, watching everyone else. Silena rolled her eyes when Annabeth glared at her with a look that clearly said '_turn around now_'. But she did anyway, gaining a new found interest in the Chicago streets.

She heard a wolf whistle behind her. "Take it off, Annie!" Travis whooped. Annabeth glared at him. "Who knew the nerd had a body?" Connor commented. Travis grinning, reaching around her to high five his brother.

She turned around so quickly she toppled over, falling into Connor's lap. He winked suggestively and her face felt like it was being roasted. Her head was partially in Percy's lap, who was sitting next to Connor. He looked down at her, a smile on his face. "Already making offers, Chase?" He asked, and at that point she wasn't even capable of speaking. Her face was on fire.

Annabeth quickly got off of him and pulled on the borrowed dress. If it were midday, she'd probably look like a tramp, but since it was night and they were going to a club, she guessed it was acceptable.

It was a skin-tight black dress that hugged her waist and showed almost everything, much to her embarrassment. There were cut-out mesh panels running along the sides, revealing way more than she'd like and the whole back was almost cut out. It was a good thing she decided to let her hair down. Oh, and one more thing: she was freezing. In the thin material dress, she might as well have been naked. Soon accompanying the dress came black pumps and cold jewelry.

Silena scowled at Annabeth. "Stop pulling the dress down! You're going to show too much at the top." Travis and Connor laughed and made more vulgar comments that made Annabeth blush.

She nearly jumped out of her skin when she felt a heavy weight on her shoulders. Startled, she looked over at Percy, who had placed his jacket on her. Silena started fussing about how the old denim jacket would ruin the whole outfit. "Silena, she's going to freeze to death." Percy said, putting an arm around Annabeth's shoulder.

Annabeth looked down at his hand, and then questioningly at Percy. He shrugged. "You still look like you're freezing."

She wouldn't let herself believe that he had other reason's for touching her. But the way he held her- there was something intimate hidden there, something neither of them cared to identify.

Why did Percy have this affect on her? She wanted to punch and kiss him at the same time. Annabeth pretended not to notice Percy's hand on her leg. It wasn't too threatening, closer to her knee, obviously a warming gesture, but she couldn't help but feel the frogs hop along in her stomach.

Unintentionally, she leaned in closer to Percy's warmth. Her nose was invaded with the odd smell of chlorine and the sea-_ Percy_. She hadn't realized how much she missed that smell. She missed every insignificant detail about Percy. She had forgotten, but now that she was suddenly thinking about all the little things, when she saw him again after years, one of the first thing she noticed was his hair was _normal_. It was a good thing, but the grey streak was the only thing connecting her to Percy for all those years apart. An ache in her heart forbade her from getting past that thought.

Percy was looking at her strangely. When he saw her look up at him, his eyes quickly switched over to Leo and Connor, who were talking about a recent prank on Travis. Meanwhile, Silena was cooing, saying that they were so cute, Hazel and Nico were having a quiet conversation, Apollo was looking at Annabeth with a knowing smile, Travis was pouting, and Beckendorf was protectively shielding Silena from the boy's roaming eyes every once and a while.

It was kind odd how well the crew got together. Some of them had just met and immediately felt comfortable, while others had already known each other. Everyone just acted like they were...family; it made Annabeth feel like she was wanted. Like she was home.

Not a feeling she had felt a lot.

****FLASHBACK****

_"How could you do that? You know how much Stanford means to me!" Annabeth yelled, her eyes tearing up. She had come home for the holidays after first semester ended a few days ago and nothing was happy about her days there._

_Since they had gotten rid of practically everything in her room and turn it into a study, she had to sleep in the attic. And she was pretty certain there were spider clans preparing to attack like when she was little. They'd relentlessly bite her until she was practically screaming out for her Dad, leaving red marks in their wake. Susan's heels coming up the stairs would scare them away and she'd strictly chide Annabeth and force her to go to sleep._

_She'd always hate Susan a little more the next day. And then Annabeth had come up with the brilliant idea of leaving her lamp on._

_Her family had been extra nice, setting off her internal red alert flags. And then they dropped the bomb; she wasn't returning to college. So here she was, in hysterics, yelling at her so-called father._

_"Do you know how hard I worked to get into Stanford? I didn't give a shit whether I failed or not in fifth grade, and then you sat me down and had a talk with me. Remember that? The one you told me when Athena went to Yale? That 'only the best' could get in?! Oh gods, what am I going to do? How am I going to live up to her legacy?"_

_"No one told you that you had to live up to Athena's legacy, Annabeth." Dad- she can't even call him that right now- Fredrick said calmly, sitting behind his desk in her former room that is now his office. She was sure Matthew and Bobby were listening through the door, and that her stepmother was lurking around, supposedly looking over the boys but not-so- inconspicuously listening to their conversation._

_"Liar!" She yelled. "You tell me it doesn't matter, but it does. How else am I supposed to attract your stupid attention? I'm ignored on a daily basis, so how else am I supposed to somehow be as great as Athena? I want to become an architect. I need to. You're just being heartless and taking away the one thing I love? Why? Why can't I be like me mother?" She was practically pleading now for answers, close to pulling out her hair._

_"Because she's gone," Fredrick growled, suddenly looking angry, sad, and pained all the same. "Your trying to fill damaged shoes won't do you any good. It won't change anything."_

_"Maybe change is good. Maybe it'll change the fact that I'm not going to turn out like you like you hope. Like it or not I _am_ like Athena, and finishing my years at Yale will only seal the deal."_

_"It's pointless," He said, his tone softer. She felt like screaming. "Well call me Hercules then, because I will be finishing my stay at Yale, like it or not."_

_He sighed. "I'm not paying for you to go back to college." when did it become all about the money? What happened to 'having your daughter's best interest at heart', like what he said when he was sending her away?_

_"Don't worry, you don't have to. I'll find my own way of making money." She whipped the door open and Matthew and Bobby came tumbling in, complaining about it not being dramatic enough. She stepped over them and down the hall, harshly bumping into a startled Susan, and practically ran up the stairs by three to the attic._

_Annabeth felt like crying. She felt like ripping up her Stanford University sweatshirt and lying down on the bed, hugging Athena's picture close and sobbing. But she didn't. Instead, she let her rage and determination control her, and next thing she knew she was holding a full suitcase, glaring at the staircase leading downstairs._

_She didn't want to see his face again. But forcing back her anger, she calmly made her way down the stairs and to Fredrick's office. He looked up from his newspaper. "Annabeth."_

_She held out her hand. "I need a couple of bucks."_

_"Where are you going?" He asked, eyeing her suitcase. She shrugged, still holding out her hand. " I just need enough money to catch a bus. And maybe enough for fastfood."_

_"No. You're not going anywhere, Annabeth. We need to talk about this."_

_"What do you want from me? I can't stay here and I can't go back to school. There's nothing here for me, if that's the case. And there's nothing to talk about; no school, no family."_

_He didn't even bother to hide his hurt expression. "Annabeth-"_

_"Can I get money or not?" It was clear. He didn't care about her education, or if she rotted in this house. All he cared about was the money._

_"No. Don't make any rash decisi-"_

_She narrowed her eyes. "Fine." Annabeth started to leave, but he called her back._

_"Where will you go? How will you take care of yourself?"_

_She shrugged. "I'll take the next bus going anywhere and apply for a job somewhere or something. I just need money."_

_"No, Annabeth. This is foolish!"_

_"My life story," She said sardonically, once again making her way out of the room. " Screw you, Dad. I don't need your help. I'll find a way to go back to college. And you can continue thinking I'm a blonde-headed idiot." she smiled. "Kay?" Without waiting for response, she slammed the door._

_Matthew and Bobby sat on the floor across the hall, staring at the door looking like they lost their puppy. They both stood up when they noticed her. Mathew hugged her and presented a mini piggy bank, almost completely filled. "They're all quarters. I was going to buy new sneakers...but you need them more." He hugged her._

_Bobby pushed his brother out of the way. He held out a couple of twenty dollar bills. Where did they get this money from? "If you ever become famous or rich, don't forget about us."_

_"Promise," She smiled and leaned down and kissed him. When she stood back up, she saw Susan standing in her parent's bedroom door. She nodded at Annabeth, probably the only affection she'd ever get. Annabeth offered a small smile. "Bye Susan."_

_And she turned to the office door. "Goodbye, Asshole!" Overkill, really. She wasn't even as mad as she expected to be. But he didn't know that. She wanted to leave with a bang._

_As she walked down the stairs, she heard Bobby and Matthew arguing. "Why do you get a kiss and I get a hug?"_

_She'd miss them._

_First, her boyfriend, then her school and friends, and now her family? The universe hated her, didn't it?_

* * *

><p><em>She stared at her house for the last time. She might come back, as long as she could go back to school. But until then she was free spirit.<em>

_She turned to start walking. Annabeth was so screwed._

_Somehow she found herself at an old cafe. At first she didn't know why she'd go there, and then she started to remember. She used to come here after school when she was younger, with Percy. They had run away to the cafe more than once, and then the chef, Pan, had hidden them in the back._

_They'd stopped going there when the cafe got a new manager, Em, a total snake who would chase them out of the cafe if they didn't buy anything._

_She entered. It was around midnight and there was a handful of people there. Em, who obviously didn't recognize her, glared. "Are you going to buy something or continue gawking at my restaurant like you have never seen food before?"_

_She reached into her pocket to get the money, but her hand went through a hole. Shit. Em raised an eyebrow, her hair curling around her face looking like snakes. "I take it you're not-"_

_"Wait!" She was practically close to tears now, willing to do anything. "Please. Just give me food. I'll work for it-"_

_"No." Em said. It amazed her how cold-hearted she could still be after all these years. Em checked her watch. "You have until closing. Then you get out." She walked away. Annabeth was still felt indebted to her. This might have been the only sympathy she would receive from Em._

_She didn't know when, but after a while she had drifted to the baby grand they had in one of the corners. A few other customers had given her money, to which she gratefully bought a burger with. _

_And then, the air changed. Everyone fell silent, and the only noise in the room was the sound of her mindlessly playing the piano and humming along. And then, she followed everyone's gaze to the door and gaped. _

****END OF FLASHBACK****

Annabeth was brought back to the present when they hit a speed bump and nearly went flying across the limo. But Percy's hand caught her waist and brought her down, holding her in place. She gratefully smiled at him.

"What're you thinking about?" He asked in her ear. She decided not to get too distracted at the proximity of his lips near her neck. She opened her mouth to tell him some lame excuse, but the truth tumbled out of her lips before she could stop them. "I was thinking about college."

"My biggest 'what if'," he murmured. Annabeth glanced at him. He calmly stared back at her, curiosity in his eyes. But she didn't say anything. She didn't want to.

He pulled her to him a little closer and kissed her cheek. "I'll be here when you're ready."

* * *

><p><strong><span>AN:**

**3 reasons why I didn't update sooner ( and I'm so sorry):**

**1- Spirit week at school the week before the last. I was busy with all that school stuff.**

**2- I had the flu ( or something much like it) this week**

**3- when I went to go update this weekend, fanfiction wouldn't let me in because of the server or something.**

**Although these are excuses, they're not good enough. I'm also sorry this chapter sucked. This chapter was way too short. I intended to make this chapter about their night out, but somehow I got distracted and this flashback came out of nowhere. But I guess its good. I wanted to start giving you answers as I'm starting to tie loose ends and close this story up. :(**

**Is there any other questions that you would like me to answer in the next two chapters that I haven't answered yet? **

**Warning: after the next ( maybe two) chapters, there will be another time warp, skipping to the next year. And I can (roughly) estimate that there will be three or four more chapters left in the story. Five if we're lucky :(**

**But on the bright side, there will be MAJOR PERCABETH FLUFF! I think. Can't really make promises.**

**Rate and review!**

**Btw, the flashback isn't finished.**

**~greekfreak302**


	22. Chapter 22

**Disclaimer: No one is as awesome as Uncle Rick. Especially me. Characters belong to him.**

**Warning: slight cursing**

* * *

><p>"We're here," the driver announced.<p>

Silena slapped Annabeth's hands from around her stomach. "Stop it!"

"I feel exposed," She grumbled. _Especially with Percy not hugging her._..She missed his warmth. But he had moved to another seat to talk with Nico. She had to be honest; she only ever say the boy talking with Hazel or Percy, and occasionally Leo.

"It shows off your curves," She looked Annabeth over, her sharp eyes catching every imperfect detail of Annabeth's dress. '_What little curves there are to show_,' she wanted to say, but refrained herself from saying.

She also wanted to point out that Silena dressed Annabeth all glamorous while Hazel wore white jeans and a hoodie. But before she could say anything, the designer ordered Hazel to take off her hoodie.

Everyone watched while she pulled it off slowly, blushing profusely. She wore a close-fitted crop top that made her look several years older. Everyone gaped. Silena forced Hazel to take off her sneakers and brought out wedges. Did she always come this prepared?

Travis turned to Silena. "It's your turn."

She blinked at him. "What?"

"Well, the two most unexpected hotties suddenly become gorgeous. Its your turn." He said matter-of-factly. Offended, she was about to yell, but Beckendorf slapped Travis on the back of his head.

"Don't listen to him baby. You're way more gorgeous." Silena giggled and kissed him.

"Okay, I'll pretend I'm not offended," Hazel said, smiling.

"It doesn't look like they're coming up for air anytime soon, so who's ready to party?!" Leo whopped, getting out of the car.

"Everyone get out! We're paying the driver by hour and we're wasting party time!" Travis said, following Leo out.

It was dark. And hot and stuffy. There was hardly enough room to move, much-less breathe. But the group slowly fanned out, finding a new interest. Even Nico. He found the bar.

"Why don't you try moving?"

Percy. The only sense of familiarity in this abnormal world. He grabbed her hand and led her to the dance floor, where there were impossibly more people with their body's flush against each other.

She was glad that visibility wasn't an option. The pulsing lights gave her vertigo, and even if the lights were one, the movement around her prevented her from focusing on one person. She hoped Percy felt the same, or else he would have saw her face explode with flames. Or at least, it felt like it.

But eventually, she relaxed into the movement, not really thinking. Before she was brought back to reality, she was having her second drink, giggling at something Percy had said.

Oh gods. Since when did she giggle? When did she twirl her hair?

She kind of blacked out after another shot, finding a boy to dance with. Her body kind of worked on autopilot, doing whatever it pleased, while her mind drifted off with mild concern of her actions.

Who knew partying was so fun?

* * *

><p><strong>PERCY'S POV<strong>

Annabeth was an animal, to say the least. It only took one drink to loosen her up, and the rest was history.

He watched from the bar as she danced against some guy that was way too old for her, giggling and laughing as if she was having the time of her life. He shook his head, downing his fifth shot. Aside from a slight buzzing feeling, he wasn't that intoxicated, perfectly capable of dragging her our of the building if things go too far.

And it looked like things might.

Annabeth was a little too close to that guy for Percy's comfort, and his grip tightened on the beer he was holding. He took a deep breath and counted backwards from 10. Maybe the alcohol was starting to get into his system.

Apparently Apollo had the same thoughts. He slid onto the stool next to Percy, gently removing the beer from his grip. "Maybe you've had too much. You look like you're about to pound that guy's head in." He followed Percy's gaze towards where Annabeth was jumping and laughing, practically throwing himself at the guy. An awkward silence fell over the two.

"You know we're not really dating, right?" Apollo asked, still staring at Annabeth, a protective look in his eyes. Looks like they were in the same boat.

"Yeah." He snorted. "You wouldn't be believable even if you got Annabeth pregnant." He laughed for a second and stopped, glaring at Apollo, who coughed awkwardly and held his hands up in surrender. "Dude, she's like my sister."

"That didn't stop you from dating her, did it?"

He shrugged. "I"m just helping her out. You know, she doesn't really appreciate the vicious rumors about you two." He looked at Percy accusingly.

What did he do? It was Kelli that's trying to destroy her reputation! '_And you let her..._'

He hated that logical voice. Even drunk, the stupid voice haunted him. But, as usual, it was right. He'd let Kelli go to far, and time was overdue to stop her. He needed to talk to her. Soon.

But when he stood up, he keeled over, and Apollo caught him before he could face-plant. He helped him sit back down on the stool. "Hammered?"

Percy nodded, groaning and rested his face on the cool wood surface of the bar. "Hammered."

"Aren't you like, 19?" Apollo shooed the bartender away when they were asked if they wanted another drink.

"20," he corrected.

"How'd you even get in?"

"The bouncer's a big fan of mine," he croaked, feeling his head pound along with the music. Apollo laughed sympathetically, patting Percy's back. "I'm going to go peel Travis off of that poor, poor girl," Apollo laughed. Percy nodded, his face still pressed against the alcohol smelling surface. Or maybe that was just his breath.

"What are you doing?"

He peeked up from under his arms and saw Silena looking down at him disapprovingly. She nursed a martini in her hands, and it looked like she hadn't even taken a sip.

"What did_ I_ do? Are you gonna drink that?"

She stared down at her martini longingly. "Sadly, no. It'll totally ruin my lipstick. But you can't have it either because I am _not_ going to have you throw up on my new heels." She whacked the back of his head when he began dozing off.

"What are you doing sitting at the bar with the bottom feeders?" she ignored the protest from Nico. She pointed towards the direction Annabeth was. "Do you love her?"

"I wouldn't say love is the righ-"

"Percy."

"Yes," He sighed. She smacked him again. "Then why are you here instead of being with her?" She asked. Of course - ever the love expert- Silena was right. He should listen to her. But he didn't. Instead, he snatched her glass from her and drank it all in less than a second. She just watched him, shaking her head.

"That could've been you, making out with your girl-"

"They aren't making out and she isn't my girl." He interrupted. Or at least he thought they weren't.

Silena continued as if he hadn't even spoken. "But instead you decide to drink your problems away? You brought her out to have fun, and here you are, wasting the night while you let her make mistakes. Go."

He stayed where he was. He was certain that Annabeth had never really partied before, and he didn't want to ruin her fun. As long as he was having fun, it didn't matter how he felt.

Silena sighed, flipping her silky hair behind her back. She patted Percy's back pitifully. "Percy, you're never going to get anywhere if you don't do anything. Do you want Annabeth or not?"

"Yes," he mumbled pathetically. She narrowed her eyes at him, the ever-giving-patience Silena finally running out of patience. "Then what the hell Percy? You'll only be miserable if you watch her fuck other guys! Now stop being such a whiny fucking asshole and do something about it!"

It was a rarity that Silena cursed, and when she did, it was a good idea to listen. Hell, in all the years of knowing her, he never thought he saw her anything but happy.

And as soon as the sentence left her mouth, she was back to her normal bubbly self. She waved at a few guys passing by, and then spotted Beckendorf. "Charlie! Wait up!" She called as she hopped off the stool and went to her boyfriend.

A screech of feedback from the speakers causing him to jump, unfortunately towards the direction of the floor. When he got back up, Nico was holding his stomach and laughing his ass off. He flipped him off an accidentally spilled over his beer, which sent Nico into another fit of laughter. Glaring at the boy, he looked down and saw the giant wet spot on his pants, and cursed. The gods hated him. Yeah, that's it.

He stumbled to the bathroom, making several wrong turns, and ended up in the 'make-out corner' in a dark hallway. He made a face, watching a couple practically swallow each other's face. The girl's dress was pulled halfway down to her waist, and the guy's shirt was off. Before he could leave, they turned around, and he could finally get a clear look of the girl's face.

That was enough to cut through the haze. He sighed heavily, forcing himself to stay calm. He was known for being irrational when he was drunk. Honestly, Percy was surprised he didn't punch the guy by now. But even more surprising was the fact that it was a completely different guy Annabeth was with.

He pushed the dude off of Annabeth, and- big surprise- he pushed Percy away and tried to go back to Annabeth. "What the hell is your problem? We're just having a little fun."

Without second thought, Percy spun and punched the guy, then turned back to Annabeth, who was standing with her hands on her hips, glaring at Percy. "Why'd you do that for?" She whined. Despite the fact it was obvious she was out of it, she glared at him like usual, and her voice was even.

He grabbed her arm and escorted her out of the building, telling Silena that they'd catch up with the others later. She stared at him for a long moment, unsure what to think, and then a smile broke out on her face and she winked at him.

"Percy, leave me alone," Annabeth whined, halfheartedly smacking his hand away from his arm. "Put on your dress," He said.

She looked down. "It is on."

"Pull it up, Annabeth." She crossed her arms. "No." She said defiantly. He shoved off his hoodie and put it across Annabeth's shoulders, looking around to see if anyone saw anything. But everyone leaving seemed to be preoccupied or hammered.

He was surprised Annabeth wasn't cold. But when he looked at her, he saw her legs were shaking and she pouted, trying not to cry. He sighed.

Since when did he volunteer to babysit a drunk girl?

* * *

><p><strong>AN:**

**I am very aware this chapter was not as great as it could have been. I tried. Next chapter will be more explanations. I'm sorry the chapter is too short.**

SeaweedBrainiac1218 :**Thank you so much! I really appreciate how enthusiastic you are about my fanfic. :)**

AnnabethGranger7121993: **I know its not my place to ask, but w****here have you been? I feel like I lost one of my most important viewer! Actually, all of my viewers are important. Anyways, you're right. Annabeth isn't that rude, but she was kind of upset about having her dreams stomped on. But no, Annabeth won't be like that for the rest of the story. Keep reading!**

**Guest: I'll try to add more Katie!**

**Unknown****: Sorry I didn't get to you in the last chapter, but thank you! Don't feel discouraged; if you want to be a writer, who says you can't be? I'm honestly not the best writer, but I appreciate your review!**

**Thank all of you who keep reviewing and making my day! And, those of you who said Beautifully Flawed was your favorite fanfic thank you!**

**Keep reading and review. I love you!**

**~Greekfreak302**


	23. Chapter 23

**Disclaimer: No one is as awesome as Uncle Rick. Especially me. Characters belong to him.**

**Warning: slight cursing**

* * *

><p>"Annabeth, stop it," Percy said, pulling the sheets over her.<p>

She giggled. "Are you gay, then?" When they had gotten to their shared hotel room, Annabeth had ran into his bedroom and it took all his might to pry her off of him. He wasn't all that worried about their roommates because he was certain they were all preoccupied. Nico was probably just about ready to pound in Leo's face, and Hazel was most likely still with Frank, a friend of Percy's.

He sputtered. "What?"

She sat up, crossing her arms and huffing. "I'm trying to express my love for you, Percy, and you keep pushing me away. Everyone keeps telling me you might feel the same way and I should tell you, but here you are, telling me to stop."

He shook his head and sat down next to her. "Annabeth, I can assure you I'm not gay. I just can't explain how I feel about you. And right now, you're not yourself and I don't want to take advantage of you."

She mocked him and rolled her eyes. "All my signs are pointing to you being gay."

He was not going to argue with her about this. "Annabeth, I'm not gay." [**A/N: there's nothing wrong with being gay :)**] She stared at him for a long moment, and then slowly approached, wrapping her arms around him. "Prove it." Before he could pry her off again, she smashed her lips to his. As much as he wanted to kiss her back, he gently pulled her off and laid her down on the bed.

"I'm not tired, Jackson." She said, staring up at the ceiling with her arms crossed. But he could see that she could barely keep her head up. "Sure you aren't." He stood up and walked to the side of the bed and kissed her forehead, pulling the sheets up over her.

He walked to the door and shut off the lights. Even though Silena might've had some very suggestive...ideas, Percy really felt like he was babysitting a little kid. It was kind of adorable, watching her pout. A reluctant voice called, "Per...Percy."

He stopped halfway pulling the door closed. "Yes?"

"Can you stay with me?" She asked, sounding like a vulnerable little child. Percy never really saw the defenseless side of Annabeth, mainly because she was always guarded, calculating her chances in any situation. He nodded, closing the door behind him. It seemed like, in the seconds he was away, she had calmed down, no longer trying anything.

He laid on the bed, putting a good distance from Annabeth, but she immediately shifted over and wrapped her arms around him. He smiled and pulled her closer, hugging her back.

They laid there a while, and when he was certain she was sleeping, she spoke. "Percy?"

"Hmm?"

"Don't leave me again, please," she pleaded quietly. "You left me once, but I'm not sure how much my heart can take."

* * *

><p>Annabeth's POV<p>

'_Oh shit._' That was the first thought that came to her mind when she opened her eyes. '_This isn't my bedroom._'

"You're awake," Percy said, coming out of the bathroom. She peeked beneath the sheets and saw she was only in her underwear. With dread, she looked back at him. "Percy, did we...?"

He laughed. "No, but you kept trying. I forced you to go to sleep." She found nothing funny about the situation. Percy looked stressed out and exhausted, yet he looked visibly relieved to see her awake and normal.

She gave him a weak smile. "Um, thank you, Percy." He shrugged. "No problem." He paused, seemingly debating over saying something. "Do you...happen to remember anything from last night?"

She rested her head in her hands, ignoring the wave of messy curls falling in her face. "Yes. I totally embarrassed myself. Why'd you let me drink, Percy!" She yelled.

He held his hands up. "I didn't."

"You let me- wait, what?" She asked.

"You barely drank an ounce of alcohol. I had the bartender switch drinks."

"So...I did all of that..." she bit her lip. This was probably even worse than if Percy had let her drink. Gods, this was so embarrassing. He nodded. "I wouldn't blame you. For someone under all the stress you've been through, I would've cracked a long time ago. I just simply let you believe that you were drunk because I figured it would have been less embarrassing. Though, it did kind of kill me watching you flirt with every guy but me."

She couldn't tell if he was joking, so she ignored the last part. "Less embarrassing? Oh gods. This is even worse!" She honestly didn't know Percy was capable of something so genius.

"I just figured you needed a way to escape that all, at least for the night. And if that didn't work..." He sat down in one of the sofas near the bed. He grinned. "I'm your therapist."

"What?"

"Let it all out, Annabeth. I'm here for you," he said, mock seriously. She ignored the rush of warmth she felt at the pit of her stomach from his words. "Percy. This is crazy. I'm not telling you-"

"Annabeth, you can't keep it all bottled up. Because sure enough, you'll have another episode like last night and I might not be there. Please, Annabeth. Just tell me what's going on with you."

"I'll tell if you tell," She whispered. He nodded, although he looked less enthusiastic. "Why do I already have a feeling I know what you're about to ask?" Percy said, shaking his head and looking away from her.

"Then answer," She said boldly.

"Poseidon doesn't matter to me, Annabeth. I don't know why you insist on digging." She crossed her arms. "Because I know you're lying. You're not mad because he contacted you. No, you're mad because he hasn't reached out to you sooner. You're mad because it was a second thought, as he was dying, that he should try to patch things up with his son."

His jaw clenched and Annabeth knew she struck a nerve. For a long, nerve-wracking moment, he didn't say anything. He forced a laugh. "Annabeth, if I remember correctly, I was supposed to be your therapist."

She shrugged. It wasn't fair of her to ask questions that struck to close to home without telling something herself. "Ask away."

"Annabeth, why do you live in that crappy apartment in New York? You know you don't have to live there."

"You haven't seen the inside, so how would you know it's crappy?" She stalled, hoping he'd take the bait.

"Annabeth." Percy said, staring at her seriously.

She drew in a shaky breath. She hadn't told anyone this, and she wasn't really ready to. It wasn't really a big deal, but she wanted Percy to know that he could trust her and that she would tell him anything. Annabeth didn't know why. They weren't dating, but there was obviously some unresolved tension between the two.

"I can't afford anything better." She said quietly, looking down at her hands.

"What? Annabeth, do you realize how much they're paying you for-"

"Yes, I do know, Percy," she snapped, looking at him sharply. "I... I give the money to my family. They needed it more than I do." She watched him carefully to see his expression. "Needed?" He asked.

"When I didn't go back to school, I haven't talked to my family in months. I considered calling, but the worst part was... _they_ didn't even bother. They didn't try checking up on me. I could've been dead for all they cared. I guess we're kind of in the same boat." She stared at the ground, remembering the night everything changed. A tear streaked down her cheek and she wiped it away. '_There was no reason to cry, Annabeth.'_ she told herself.

Percy, noticing she was crying too, went to stand up, but she held a hand up. "I'm fine." she waved her hand at him.

"And then, one day, they found me, and they needed money. So I gave it to them. I mean, they needed it. But now, they're filthy rich bastards living off _my_ money. It became a habit, and if I stop, I'm afraid they'll be right back in that horrible financial situation that forced me to stop going to college. Whatever stupid dream it may be, Matthew and Bobby might have to put theirs on hold like I did."

When she had released her first song, her father had called her up for the first time in months, pretending that night never happened. She had genuinely thought he was trying to patch things up, but then he had dropped the bomb- he needed money. But not in that way- Bobby had been hit- no, grazed, really- by a drunk driver and he needed money for his stay in the hospital. So she stupidly gave it to him.

And then even after Bobby got better they kept hunting her down for money. And she loved her family, so she continued paying for their needs. After all, she was keeping Bobby's promise. She didn't forget about her family. How could she? They took most of her money anyway. She'd even sent the boys a new pair of sneakers for their birthday.

And then somehow it had become a habit- whatever earnings she made, her family would receive over 80%. The rest went into her saving's account. She didn't really mind- but it did make living like a celebrity really hard.

"You obviously don't want that, Annabeth. Worry about you first; what do _you_ want?" Now Percy really sounded like a therapist. A small smile formed on her face and she looked at him, expecting him to be joking, but the smile dropped from her features when she realized he was being serious.

"Money never really mattered to me, but it was obviously important to my father. I wanted to make him happy."

He gave her a look that told Annabeth she was stalling. She sighed. "College."

His face softened. "I don't understand what's so wrong with going back-"

"My family needs money, and Hollywood life is all I'm good at for the moment. I'll figure something out eventually, but until then I'll stick with acting. Honestly, I never even really _wanted_ to be famous. It seemed like a fun thing to do when it all started, but now I feel like I want to rip my hair out."

"Annabeth," Percy said softly. "If you don't want this life, who's stopping you from changing it?"

She thought about the question. "But my dad-"

"They found a way of making it by before you were famous, and they'll find a way after you're done with this." he said, staring at her as if forcing her to look at him. She refused. If she looked into his eyes, she'll be reminded of everything she lost. She was done crying. She was done feeling sorry about herself. Percy was about to undo all the precautions she took in not being hurt again.

"You don't have to live for other people, Annabeth. You're your own person. You come first." He leaned forward and touched her cheek, the other hand on her arm. She looked at him, and something snapped.

Pulling away, she laughed bitterly. "That's rich, coming from an actor. Your whole 'life' is fake in their eyes! They don't see the real you, Percy. They see a playboy. I see a...broken boy." She said softly. "You're living for other people to make a living. You allow them to make lies about you simply because its your job. Stay quiet, be the trophy and allow real people to walk all over you. Speaking about lies, where's your _girlfriend_, Percy?"

He looked away from her. Annabeth couldn't tell if she'd wounded him like she'd hoped, or if he couldn't look at her simply out of guilt. Her skin burned where he touched her.

And then his phone rang, ruining any chances the two had of finishing their conversation. He looked up at her, as if asking for permission. She shrugged. "Go ahead. If anything, it might be your girlfriend." He looked at the caller ID and sighed.

Without another word, he stood up. She stopped him. "Percy, we can do this movie no problem. But after that...I think I just need some space and time to think." He stared at her and nodded, sliding past her and exiting the room. Annabeth hugged herself and leaned against the bed post, closing her eyes.

For someone without a boyfriend, that sure did sound like a breakup line.

She never asked for this. All she wanted was to have a simple life and go to Stanford. She wanted to be an architect like her mother. And then somewhere along the way, her dreams became so blurred and disoriented that she wasn't sure what they were anymore.

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><p><strong>AN:**

**Sorry about the sad ending. I'd say it gets better next chapter, but that would be a lie. You're about to hate me big time. I'll give you a hint: Kelli goes too far.**

**But don't worry, all's well in the end.**

**theartnerd333: I honestly don't know. I saw some commercial and I'm like: hey, I should make a story about blah blah blah and it just developed in my head until I was too excited and posted it. I dunno.**

****please read**:I'll be going back and editing the story, so don't be freaked out if certain things disappear or something. **

**I was going to wait till B.F. was over, but I was too excited and started another story, In The Grey. I'd really appreciate it if you stopped and read it for a second! :)**

**Oh, and there's probably two or three chapters left. :(**

**Review!**

**~Greekfreak302**


	24. Chapter 24

**Disclaimer: No one is as awesome as Uncle Rick. Especially me. Characters belong to him.**

**Warning: slight cursing**

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><p><em>*****7 MONTHS LATER*****<em>

Annabeth slumped onto her bed, unable to move. She groaned into her pillow. "Piper," she whined. All of her muscles were on fire, and she was drenched in sweat.

As the filming went along, they required the leads and supporting actors to come in for more training sessions and every time Annabeth felt like she might die. Beckendorf might've been nice, but when he was on duty he was a monster.

Hazel seemed to be doing good, but Annabeth felt like it got worse every time. Hazel pat Annabeth's back sympathetically, still panting. "Why did you book double sessions?"

Piper, who sat crossed legged on Hazel's bed, tried to hide a smile. "Chiron wanted you to be extra ready for another day of filming tomorrow. I never asked why."

Annabeth flipped on her back, looking at Piper. "I'm sorry, who's assistant are you?" Hazel laughed, and Piper stuck out her tongue.

"I'm sorry spoiled little rich girl," Piper joked. "How about I make it up to you and you two to lunch?"

"I dunno, Pipes. I need to study my lines and-"

"No excuses, Anna. You- you _both_ are trying too hard. Why don't you relax for a second?" Piper said. Annabeth snorted, sitting up. "Yeah, says the girl who booked us two training sessions."

Piper gave Annabeth a pointed look. Then she looked over at Hazel. "Are you coming?"

Hazel looked at Annabeth as if asking for permission. She shrugged. "Knock yourself out, Hazel. But be warned; Piper is a little crazy in the brain." She laughed a little nervously, looking over at Piper, who stuck her middle finger up at Annabeth. "Hazel. I'm kidding."

"Oh," she said quietly, her cheeks tinting pink.

The girl reminded Annabeth so much of an adorable little girl it wasn't even funny. She seemed unsure about most things, and anything farther than a kiss seemed to 'scandalous'. She seemed like a girl taken out of time from the early 1900's.

Hazel nodded and stood up, pulling on a sweater and pushing her dark hair out of her face. Piper linked arms with Hazel and stuck her tongue out at Annabeth, waving and disappearing around the corner.

Shaking her head, she let herself fall back on the bed. She was going to get Piper back.

She roamed around the suite for a while, too bored to do anything, even though there were almost a million activities to do. So she sat herself on one of the couches near the window, and did what she did best; studied.

She didn't know how long she'd been alone in the suite when the door banged open, startling her from her script. She immediately regretted looking up.

Percy and Kelli were heatedly making out, oblivious to the girl in the corner staring at them with disgust. She cleared her throat, and immediately the bright green orbs stared at her over Kelli's shoulder. The girl didn't seem to notice her, or the fact that Percy had almost stopped kissing completely.

Apparently Percy had lied to her when he said he'd set her straight. She had arrived last month from a trip to Beijing, eager to get as much Percy time as possible. Annabeth didn't really mind the fact that she was all over him- he was a celebrity and he had a lot of fans- but the part that bothered her the most was Percy didn't even spare her so much as a glance if it wasn't in front of the camera.

Percy pulled away, ignoring the whine he received. "I'll uh, meet you in my bedroom, babe. I'll be there in a sec."

Kelli giggled, scraping her finger up his arm seductively. "Don't keep me waiting too long." With a peck on the lips, she left, leaving Percy and Annabeth awkwardly staring at each other.

When she realized she'd been staring too long, she looked down at the script again, pretending to be busy while she felt his eyes burn into her.

"You know you can't ignore me, Annabeth," Percy said, sitting on a loveseat across from her. She ignored him for a few more minutes, and said, "Judging by the fact I haven't _really_ talked to you in months, I think I'm pretty damn close."

"We still have to talk."

She looked up at him with an apathetic expression. "I'm sorry, what is there to talk about?"

"Annabeth. You pretending nothing happened doesn't change things. You were the one who ending us." He said, almost pleading her to look at him with his eyes.

Okay, Annabeth had to admit that she'd missed Percy, even though they'd never really been apart. It caused her anguish knowing that Percy could never really be hers, and that he had a girlfriend who he allowed to walk all over him. As cliche as that sounded.

Maybe she loved him again. Maybe 'loving him again' was something that required her to stop, even though she never did. Even when Percy was gone from her life, she'd fallen in love with the memories, no matter how much pain they caused her. The fact that Percy had known her most of her life had impacted her greatly. Maybe she was obsessed, even though Percy had clearly moved on.

Gods, since when did her life become so cliche and melodramatic?

She continued muttering her lines, her mind mentally scanning over the sheet of paper.

She paused at a specific line. '_It's me. Please look at me. Stop! Please. It's me. It's okay. I love you._' She tried in vain to continue scanning over the script, but the few words seemed to have implanted themselves in her mind.

She hesitantly looked at him, and their eyes locked. Giving in to her stubborn nature, she refused to look away, searching for something in his eyes. "If I remember correctly, there was never really an 'us'. And the short time when we actually _talked_ and weren't on rocky terms, you were preoccupied with your girlfriend who was out to get me."

Annabeth had to admit; Kelli was kind of nice. You know, when she wasn't trying to ruin your career. But now that she knew Annabeth was out of her hair, she'd been considerably cordial.

Percy stood up and walked to her, and leaned in, only stopping when their noses were touching. "I don't want you to hate me, Annabeth. You...mean a lot to me and I don't want to lose you. I still love you." He whispered. She held her breath, waiting for the inevitable to happen.

But it never did.

He pulled back, regret evident in his eyes, but still turned and walked off, towards the direction of his room. Annabeth hugged herself, feeling tremors running through her body. She had no idea what to do with the current information, especially when he had a girl waiting for him in his room. He probably didn't even mean it He was probably trying to toy with her emotions.

Percy changed. For better or worse, that was what Annabeth was still trying to figure out.

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><p>"Wait, you're telling the truth?" Piper asked, her laughter ceasing. She glanced at Annabeth quickly, her smile slipping, then looked away again.<p>

Annabeth nodded mutely, staring out the window of the dressing room. She could have sworn she had seen Kelli watching them around the corner, or maybe that was just her paranoia kicking in. But either way, she decided to keep it from her friends.

It had been a week since her last encounter with Percy, and she was afraid that something bad was going to happen. It was clearly evident, especially with Kelli's history of ruining reputations.

"Well maybe that makes sense..." Piper said almost to herself, looking away. Annabeth's eyebrows knitted. "What do you mean, 'that makes sense'?"

Piper and Hazel exchanged identical looks of dread. "Guys? What's going on?" Annabeth asked, her grip tightening on the arm-holder. Hazel looked at Annabeth sadly, her eyes almost brimming with tears. She patted Annabeth's hand with trembling finger. She supposed that was supposed to be a reassuring gesture. The panic that flared in Annabeth's chest was unbearable.

Piper rubbed her forehead, obviously debating whether she should tell her or not. "It's really bad this time, Annie. Why am I always the one who has to tell you these things?"

"Kelli found your note, Annabeth," Hazel blurted, and then covered her mouth, her eyes wide. Annabeth stared at her for one baffling moment, and then it clicked. That was why they were acting so weird.

The note. _She found the note_.

Annabeth's heart actually stopped for several seconds. And then it sped up, feeling like it was trying to rip out of her body. Sitting there in shock, she felt like the world had stopped moving.

"Piper?" She asked, her voice quivering. "Please tell me you're not serious. She didn't find it," She said, trying to convince herself.

Piper shook her head. "I'm sorry Annabeth. This morning, Kelli had a open interview. Everyone thought it was just to gush about her new modeling job, but then she dropped the bomb- she um, she started reading your note and showed the camera your signature at the bottom."

Kelli Empsai was a monster. Annabeth was actually foolish enough to believe that she was tolerable and as soon she turned her back, Kellie struck.

Her life was over. Actually, Annabeth felt like dying in a corner. This was serious. No one would look at her the same. Even her friends. Hazel couldn't look at Annabeth without almost crying, and Piper carried a sadness in her eyes whenever she even glanced in Annabeth's direction. But either way, she could tell they were trying to help her, which only made her feel a little better.

She fisted her hands in her hair, close to screaming.

* * *

><p>"Um, hi, I'm Annabeth." Annabeth hadn't really gotten a chance to talk to the boy since he first arrived at the hotel. She held out her hand. The boy stared at it. Hazel slowly pulled Annabeth's hand down, whispering in her ear. "He doesn't like being touched."<p>

Annabeth nodded. "Nico," The boy finally said. His shaggy black hair fell into his face, almost completely covering his obsidian eyes. His colorless skin seemed to make him look like the undead. "You're Percy's friend, right?" He couldn't have been over 17. He always seemed so closed to himself she rarely got a chance to speak with him, especially when he was around Percy.

Nico nodded. "Nico here is my step-brother. He's playing Al. But you already knew that," Hazel said, sitting down next to Nico. The six of them were shoved into a green room waiting for their interview they were forced to take, nothing but old magazines as entertainment.

Percy was staring at the window, occasionally glancing at her with a hard look in his eyes. Hazel was sitting cross legged on the couch, talking softly to Nico, who barely spoke. Travis and Connor- who were both cast for the role as Peter-were doing something on Percy's phone, laughing. Was Annabeth the only one who was nervous? What if the press didn't like her as Tris Prior?

What if they mentioned the note? She knew everyone in the press were nosy idiots who had no regards for anyone's personal business.

No one flat out said they hated Annabeth portraying Tris, but Annabeth was certain that this cast interview was going to end horribly. Something bad was just bound to happen, especially with her current problem.

The red light above the door turned green, their signal that it was time to start the interview. Travis jumped up, pushing her out of the way. "Step aside, Annabeth. You may be Tris, but you know everyone's just curious about Peter's kick-ass moves."

"You mean the one where Tris shoots him and he begs her to stop?" Annabeth asked, shaking her head. Travis stuck his tongue out at her.

It had started fine, questions beating around the bush. But whenever the questions came to her, some of the reporters would get nervous and try to skip her, or ask the simplest questions that annoyed her to no end.

"Annabeth," a reporter said tentatively, drawing her attention. "What made you want to leave the world with a poorly-written note and try to commit suicide?"

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><p><strong>AN:**

**Really sorry for the nuclear bomb, in case it was that surprising to anyone. I probably won't explain why until the next story.**

**What next story, you ask? A sequel of course! If you're up to reading it, I'm up to writing it. Probably not immediately after the end of this story, but soon. There are a lot of loose ends that needed tying, so I figured a sequel was the prefect idea. Yay or nay?**

**Tell me in a review what you think.**

**Oh, and I know this is a lot to ask, but do you think we could reach 200 reviews by the end? Maybe 185? I'd be forever grateful. And I promise you, every positive review I receive, I squeal like a little girl.**

**Two more chapters left! I feel like crying. Stories are so easy to start but so hard to end.**

**TeamLeoValdez101: I can't really make promises about when they're officially going to get together because we all know I make empty promises (unintentionally of course).**

**Seaweed and Wise: I'm so sorry! I don't really mean to make it all so confusing :(. But, I'm trying. As I said before, that will probably be another thing I'll be covering in my sequel.**

**Please tell me your thoughts!  
><strong>

**~greekfreak302**

**I am also very sorry about the extreme clicheness!**


	25. Chapter 25

**Disclaimer: No one is as awesome as Uncle Rick. Especially me. Characters belong to him.**

**Warning: slight cursing**

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><p><em>Previously: "Annabeth," a reporter said tentatively, drawing her attention. "What made you want to leave the world with a poorly-written note and try to commit suicide?"<em>

She paused. "What?"

The reporter- a man who had to be no younger than 40- asked again, gaining more confidence. "Well, since it was obviously about Percy-"

"_Excuse me_? What makes you think it had _anything_ to do with Percy?" She demanded, standing up and ignoring the flinch she received from the younger girl next to her. Hazel put a hand on her wrist, looking up, pleading Annabeth to sit down with her eyes. Percy sat at the other end of the table his jaw tense and his hand clenching around his pen, but otherwise he looked completely unfazed, unaffected by the accusations.

"Well, many people believe that you tried to end your life because of your on again off again relationship abruptly stopped because of Kel-"

Annabeth sat down again with more force than necessary, biting her lip to refrain from yelling."Percy and I are not dating. He's in a serious relationship with Kelli Empsai. And my personal issues are not anyone else's business but mine." Despite all she just said, the crowd of nosy reporters, paparazzi and fans, started talking among themselves, basically only extracting the fact that Annabeth confirmed the suicide note.

Percy stood up and whistled sharply in the microphone in front of him, receiving a wave of feedback, drawing everyone's attention to him. "If I'm not mistaken," He said slowly, making eye contact with almost every reporter in the front row, "this interview was supposed to be about our upcoming movie. Not the very personal lives of the leads." And with a charming smile, everyone's uneasiness slipped away.

But she could see straight through that smile. He was trying not to lose it himself. He glanced at her, his eyes asking if she was okay. She nodded, looking down. Her good mood had been quickly decreasing, but now it burned in Tartarus. She just wanted to leave so bad. To leave this stupid world of drama and gossip where no one has any privacy and you're ridiculed by the tiniest of situations.

"It's going to be okay," Hazel said, squeezing her arm reassuringly. She couldn't make herself smile back.

The rest of the interview went by smoothly, no one speaking a word about the latest buzz about 'Percabeth' or Annabeth's suicide note. Whenever anyone would step out of line, mentioning even a word about Annabeth, Percy would glare, and they'd quickly steer the conversation from her. And then Percy would look over at her and smile slightly, presumably making sure she was still okay.

She was really getting mixed feelings from it all. On the one hand, Percy acted as if he didn't care- like he had a life and he was planning on living it, with or without her. And then on the other hand he was being all protective of her, threatening anyone who would dare bringing a frown to her face and then proceeding to check if she was okay. It didn't make sense- if he loved her like he claimed, why was he still with Kelli, hurting her even more?

But what she said earlier wasn't completely untrue: Percy and Kelli were kind of getting serious. She was always around- on set holding coffees and waiting for him to finish, or even waiting outside their hotel door for him. It was obvious she loved him too- or at least had some feelings running deep- which was probably the only thing she and Annabeth shared in common.

Kelli was so insecure, she'd do anything to secure her position as Percy' s girlfriend. Annabeth was the type to sit and watch- as long as he was happy and she wasn't too miserable she could deal.

But, this whole 'diplomatic' thing sucked. Annabeth was all about being mature and stuff, but Kelli had taken this to a whole new -and beyond personal- level. She'd been a bully since day one. She made herself promise that if she saw Kelli, she would put her in check. So far, the smug little world-traveling-expensive-clothes wearing she-devil always thought she won simply because predictable little Annabeth acted exactly how she was expecting.

But Annabeth was done with the games. Maybe it was time to stop being so predictable. Percy was right- she rashly ended things between them simply because she was bitching about Kelli. Well, he never really said that, but it was kind of implied.

Kelli could go jump off a cliff if she thought she could get the best of her. Annabeth was not going to let herself get walked over anymore; she was Percy's girlfriend, not hers. Annabeth was done caring.

So if Kelli wanted to target Annabeth, she could go ahead. Annabeth would happily stand still and let her take aim.

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><p>For the rest of the month, Annabeth had been the center of attention in the media. Everyone targeted her, good and bad. But she pretended what Kelli did didn't matter to her, and it all kind of blew away when a new star to harass came along.<p>

Sure, people still looked at her and pointed every time she walked around, but since when did they _not_ do that? It was nothing she couldn't handle. Kelli had also gone so far as to talk to Annabeth, something she'd never really done before. She wasn't threatening her. She just asked what was wrong with Annabeth and why she wasn't caving. Why she wasn't bothered by everything she'd done. She actually seemed sincerely guilty, and Annabeth actually considered forgiving her.

You know, until she turned around and purposely kissed Percy in front of her. But Annabeth wouldn't react. Even though she felt as though Percy might as well have stabbed her, she kept it inside, smiling whenever she made eye contact with Kelli over Percy's shoulder. And she could tell it was driving Kelli insane.

Kelli was so needy and insecure it was kind of hilarious. Every second the model would be snatching Percy away if he even _smiled_ at a girl or she would constantly take up his attention and practically eat his lips, even if she was just trying to look good. She almost felt bad for Percy. And then she remembered all the shit he put her through and decided he deserved it, at least for now.

Oh, and you should have seen Kelli after they shot the kissing seen. She was absolutely furious Annabeth had to take pictures. And, to piss her off further, Annabeth asked if she could take a picture with her and posted it as 'hanging with my new bestie who's feeling green at the moment'.

But, eventually, Kelli was out of Annabeth's hair for good. The last day of filming, Annabeth was relieved to go back home. Yeah, she'd have to see even more of Kelli and her new-old boy toy eye candy in interviews and premieres, but at least she wouldn't have to stay in the same hotel that created an extreme awkward atmosphere where the tension was palpable.

And everything turned out great. Hazel and a lot of the other extras and minor actors went to a college in Manhattan, so she could see her new friends more, and it seemed as if their weird group of freaks they called friends were all in the same area, so they could all see each other. The only downside to that was the fact that Percy was also a part of their freakish friend group and that would require seeing him a lot more than necessary on those rare 'under the radar' hours.

When their opening premiere rolled around, Annabeth was less than excited.

Apollo had offered to take her, it kind of being an obligation as her "boyfriend" so she agreed. After the whole 'suicide note' fiasco, the fans had banded together ans solidified "Percabeth" making the ship harder and harder to sink. They'd even made fanfictons and blogs about them. Nothing she could do. So she gave up. She would go out with Apollo, specifically when there were a horde of paparazzi were around, but it was obvious they weren't really buying it.

So they planned to break up tonight, at the premiere. It gave her a good excuse to leave after she went on stage with Percy for her speech about how fun the movie had been or something and she wouldn't be required to go the the after party strictly for celebs. She could say she was too heartbroken.

They planned it, and it was perfect. That is, until the plan started. It had been a train wreck since the beginning.

Silena- who had insisted to continue being Annabeth's designer while she went to college part time- had gone all out in making Annabeth look the best and draw all the attention. So, she had put Annabeth in a dress so glamorous she could hardly believe belonged to her. Despite Silena's severe berating about proper wardrobe choices, she just decided to wear flats beneath the billowing dark blue fabric.

First, they'd been late. The second she stepped out of the limo, the carpet was practically deserted, save for a few fans who didn't have tickets but were hoping they would get to see something. It kind of ruled out her option of flaunting around her "super hot date".

And then Annabeth was chided for being late and shoved into some dark room. No one told her that she would be risen up on a platform onto the stage- so, of course, she turned around so quickly she practically tripped over the fabric of the dress, hearing a small rip. She closed her eyes and cursed. It wasn't that bad- just the front had practically ripped a whole layer of the front of the dress, revealing another white layer, which kind of made it look_ better_ in a sense, like it was supposed to be two different shades. So she just tied the extra fabric around her waist in a bow.

It wasn't like she could do anything now.

After her speech about how the experience had been so fun and joking around with Percy on stage, pretending to be best buds, she had kind of been drained of all her energy. She considered calling it in early. But that wasn't an option, because reporters were swarming her about "quick interviews". But being on stage with Percy made her realize that that was the way she wished the were, in real life, like when they were kids. But that time was long gone, and the lighthearted times had run out. Things were broken between them and they both knew it.

Annabeth, Piper and Apollo were seated in row H, almost out of the spotlight of the front row, which was the best news she had heard all night. Unfortunately, a camera was positioned in front of row G, kind of zooming in every few minutes to see her reaction.

When the movie started, she let out a small breath of relief. If that thing had been pointed in her face the whole night, she would've gone insane. The lights dimmed and Apollo retracted his hand that had been around her shoulder while the cameras were filming.

The lights dimmed and the introduction lines started, her voice filling the almost silence of the unbelievable filled theater. Halfway into the movie, she was starting to get fidgety, no doubt her ADHD working up. Suddenly wanting to move and not watch her horrible acting that people seem to find 'fantastic' for some reason, Annabeth stood up and ducked her head. "Where are you going?" Piper whispered, eyeing a reporter who was talking to Hazel a few yards away. Annabeth shook her head and her assistant sighed. But she agreed earlier. No interviews tonight.

So she let Annabeth go, telling her not to draw attention to herself. Of course, if a reporter actually spotted her, she'd no doubt be publicly shamed- "breaking news! Annabeth ditching out on her own premiere? Who does she think she is?" But after going through the 'suicide note' expose, she felt like she could kind of do anything. If she could go along holding her head up high and act as if she wasn't affected through something like that, why would it be so hard to ignore what some low-life thinks of her?

It was kind of clear that the celebrity life wasn't for her- there was absolutely no privacy, and there was also the fact of dealing with critics and mean actors and pretending what they say doesn't affect them even when it does. She didn't want to be a puppet anymore. She had only become famous because it was temporarily making her money- what was her reason for doing it now?

Either way, she wanted that sense of normalcy again that she had taken advantage of when it was available to her. Now that it was gone she cherished it and wished it back, like wanting a mother back from the deceased. She was just so sick of all the the lies and falseness of it all- why couldn't people be interested in the truth?

Startled, Annabeth was brought out of her thoughts when she nearly tripped on a bag outside the women's restroom. She picked it up and gingerly opened the door. She paused at the girl in a heap on the marble floors in front of the sink, sobbing loudly.

"Um, is this your bag?"

She froze when the girl looked up. How had she not realized it before? The large mass of midnight black hair, smooth chocolate colored hair and probably the most expensive dress Annabeth had ever seen in her life. Kelli was a mess, to put it lightly.

Her eyes were red-rimmed, still filled with tears, which where highlighted by streaks of mascara and eye liner smudged and running. She stood up, and slowly walked to Annabeth, her eyes narrowed. Although she still looked threatening, the fact that her lip was trembling to hold in the tears ruined the 'scary' effect for Annabeth.

She snatched her bag away. "What're you doing here?"

Annabeth shrugged; she couldn't find it in her to get upset. Kelli wasn't worth it. All her hate for the girl had somehow morphed into pity; she was lonely. She had no one, and she resorted to manipulation and spitefulness to get what she wanted.

"You _could_ say thank you, you know. It's not a crime to be nice every once and a while. I'm sure that bag costs more than your dress and shoes combined." Annabeth said, leaning on the sink while she watched Kelli's fruitless attempt to compose herself and yell at her.

"Is there something wrong?" Annabeth asked. Stupid question, really. If everything was okay, Kelli wouldn't be losing it on a bathroom floor while her boyfriend and thousands of fans were waiting on her. But she was just being polite- actually, Annabeth wanted to be anywhere but here.

Kelli narrowed her eyes. "What do you think?" she hissed. And then, all the effort of trying to be malicious to Annabeth seemed to drain and she slid down a wall, leaning her head back and sucking in a shaky breath. "Everything about this night went all wrong. I thought- I thought I had everything under control. And then everything unraveled and- oh gods," She bit her lip, shaking her head.

It looks like Annabeth wasn't the only one with a plan tonight. They kind of fell into an odd silence. She slid down the wall next to Kelli, her dress pooling around her legs, looking like water. Annabeth closed her eyes, listening to Kelli's uneven breaths. "Percy broke up with me."

Annabeth's eyes opened and she turned her neck so quickly she nearly got whip lash. Her eyes were as wide as saucers. Kelli, who had been watching Annabeth closely, shook her head and laughed sadly, looking away. "You should see your reaction. Of course. It's you."

"What?" Annabeth asked. Kelli looked at her with a knowing expression. "Wow, you really are clueless. I mean, its been obvious since the beginning. Why do you think I've done such horrible stuff to you?"

She didn't answer. She didn't know what to say. "Crappy night, huh?"

The other girl sighed, balling her fists in her messy hair. And then she stopped, staring at Annabeth with wide, tear-filled eyes. "Annabeth, you're a good person. I- I'm sorry. I just..." And then she lost it again, sobbing.

She nodded, awkwardly patting Kelli's shoulder. What did this mean? Obviously, Kelli was going to leave her alone from now on, but what this this make them? friends? Acquaintances? At least, for now, it was a truce.

Kelli sniffed, standing up. She looked towards the door ruefully. "I think I've been in here long enough. People are going to start wondering."

Annabeth watched as she cleaned herself up, washing her face and fixing her hair. "Kelli?"

"Hmm?" She stopped, her hand resting on the door. "Do you ever just want to escape the flashing lights? You know, under the radar?"

A slow smile appeared on the other girl's face. "Of course I do. But it's too late for me. You- you actually have a future. Don't stick with something just because you're afraid you won't get another chance. I mean, it's pretty obvious you hate it here, in front of the cameras. You're going to be successful, other than entertaining people."

Ignoring the double meaning in her words, she nodded, her head buzzing. Kelli left without looking over her shoulder.

A few minutes later, she figured she had been gone for too long and it was time to go back to the theater where the movie would be almost over. But when she exited the bathroom, she found her feet glued to the ground for the second time that night.

Had he been waiting out here this whole time? For Kelli or for her?

There he was, across the hall, staring at her with bright green eyes. Without hesitating, Percy walked up to her and he finally seemed to realize what he was doing. "Do, um-do you want to get out of here? Tonight doesn't seem to be either of our nights."

She nodded, hiding a smile. "Um, yeah. But what about your-"

"She's not my girlfriend anymore. But I'm sure you already knew that," he said without the slightest hesitation. He glanced at the bathroom door. "Kelli's out of the equation and should've been a long time ago."

And for the first time in months, she allowed that fluttering hope to shine. She could see it in Percy's eyes too.

He held out his arm. "Would you care to accompany me to dinner?"

She grinned like an idiot. "Like, a date?"

He nodded. "Yes, like a date. This was something I should've done a long time ago."

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><p><strong>AN:**

**I promise you I didn't intend to take this long updating. Most of the first week I was thinking "yay, I have time!" and then next thing I know it was over two weeks. And this week I was sick, so I wasn't really in the mood to update.**

**Oh, and I was too lazy to write extra for a time warp, so just keep in mind that the second part it skipping a whole bunch of weeks at a time and stopping at the premiere.**

**But, here it is! I realized that the next (and last chapter) is kind of an epilogue.**

**Okay, so I kind of had a lot of hints regarding my sequel. If you caught them.**

**ilikepercabeth123: I tried to add a little Annabeth sass in the first part. I kind of forgot to add it with her encounter with Annabeth :/**

**Seaweed and Wise: if you're still confused after the next chapter p.m. me :)**

**Jessica Jasso: Thanks!**

**Questions, thoughts, anything you want to tell me, now may be the last time! Well, maybe not, but I'll only get to answer you in the last chapter.**

**Review**

**~greekfreak302**

**P.S.: **32,292 views? Sweet!


	26. Chapter 26

**Disclaimer: No one is as awesome as Uncle Rick. Especially me. Characters belong to him.**

**Warning: slight cursing**

**IMPORTANT A/N PLEASE READ: Okay, now that I've got your attention I guess I'll tell you now before I forget later. Annabeth is 21, since the last chapter or two was a whole year skipped. Sorry if I forgot to mention that. **

**Anyway, continue reading!**

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><p>"What?" Thalia asked incredulously. Annabeth shrugged, slipping into the plain faded pink sundress Silena had lent her. "Why the hell isn't he picking you up? Isn't that what you're supposed to do on a date?" She demanded, following her into the bedroom.<p>

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "I've told you 16 times that I'm not going on the date. Zip." Thalia obliged, zipping the dress up and huffing. "Right," she said, and Annabeth thought her manager would let the subject drop. "You're just going to meet the parents." Ugh. Why was she so intent on knowing every detail of her love life? Since when was she Gwen?

Actually, since the subject came up, Gwen had been relatively quiet, giving Annabeth sideways glances. She was hiding something. But at the moment, Annabeth was dealing with Thalia, so she would have to hound her later.

"Thalia, I've already met Sally and seen Paul once or twice. And I've babysat Tyson before." Before...their connections broke off, Annabeth used to be like an extra special extended family member to the Jacksons'. They weren't that big, but it was still a family, way less defective than hers. She remembered spending nights at Percy's when her family would be extra annoying or if they were ignoring her altogether. Sally wouldn't question it, just open her arms wide with a warm smile and Tyson, Percy's little brother, would always be delighted to have new company. She missed having an almost-mother.

After four-almost five- years, she was excited to finally see her again. And Tyson too, of course. And as she'd been trying to explain to Thalia, it was Sally who had asked Annabeth to attend Tyson's graduation, not Percy. Sally had consoled her that Percy had no idea she was coming.

It was a good thing, kind of. After their...date (it still felt weird saying it!), they had only seen each other a few more times(each better than the rest) and then they hadn't seen much of each other, almost as if the other was trying to figure out what was going on between them now. It's been a month. Annabeth wasn't sure where they stood, but now she was wishing she wasn't so intent on sinking the Percabeth ship before. She was the one who pushed him away that time; it was her fault. She wouldn't blame him if he wanted to just forget about her.

And then, on the other hand, it would kind of be weird to show up out of the blue supposedly uninvited as if she couldn't stay away or something. [**A/N: sorry, I was listening to Adele lol**]

When Sally had quickly assured Annabeth it was_ her_ wanting Annabeth to attend, not Percy's scheme or something, Annabeth said yes without hesitation, unlike the first time. But, it seemed like Sally was keeping a little bit of information from Annabeth. She could always tell when Sally was lying- the woman was just too good natured- but she decided she should just let it go. You can't just pry something out of someone after not speaking to them after five years.

Lately it seemed like everyone was being more secretive than usual. Annabeth felt completely blindsided, which was an odd transition for her- she'd never really been the one excluded, she'd always _known_ and watch the person keep trying to pry out of her what she was hiding.

"Thalia!" Annabeth exploded. For the past five minutes Thalia had been asking questions, not leaving any room for her to actually answer them. Almost as if she was trying to distract Annabeth. "It's not a date. Percy doesn't even know I'm going to be there. Today's Tyson's day, not mine."

They both heard a loud snort from Piper, who had been staring at Annabeth's fish tank and listening to their conversation. "What?" Annabeth asked.

"Oh, no, nothing. I was just thinking about a joke I heard this morning. Do you want to hear it?"

Annabeth's eyebrows knitted. Something was definitely going on.

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><p>No one was looking at her. Not even sparing a glance in her direction. No, she wasn't one of those self-absorbed celebrities that need attention 247 or they would die, but it was just...weird not having people stare at her, what with the busy year it had been.

When she pulled up to Goode high school, Annabeth hesitated. She remembered graduating, how excited she was to get to escape high school. But even in the real word- no, the barbie doll world that is called Hollywood, was just an even more screwed up, delusional, stereotypical version of high school. It was always who was having sex, who was dating who, who was pregnant and cheated, whoever was rich would flaunt everything to feel better about themselves. She was starting to think the only difference was the ages. If she could, she would have gone back in time to warn her past self not to become famous. Although she was the basket case among her fellow celebrities, everyone still gave her attention- both negative and positive- that she didn't want or deserve.

She never would have made it through her years of school without Percy. Even when they had a falling out, he would still take care of her. She used to know him, and he would never consider leaving her. He promised to protect her from harm from anyone. But Percy had broke that promise more than anyone else, so much so that the promise had disintegrated and spread out in an eternal abyss. He never wanted to see her cry, and she knew it. He was only human, and they were all flawed creatures. Knowing that this perfect being was so flawed made her love him more. His flaws were beautiful.

Annabeth was going to do it. She had made a revelation in the surprisingly quiet car [Thalia had said she would skip out on this event and let Annabeth borrow the car]: she was going to talk to him. There was nothing standing in their way anymore. No bitchy girlfriends or hiding feelings from each other. No more doubts. She loved him and he loved her. So what was the issue? They couldn't let love die simply because of severed communication.

She had spent most of her life with Percy and wasn't ready to have him ripped away so suddenly. She had to do something about that. So she had a plan. She had spent the rest of the car ride prepping and pumping herself up, but when she saw the school, everything melted away and she felt her nerves coil tightly in the pit pf her stomach.

Sally was waiting for her on the concrete stairs, smiling brightly when she saw Annabeth. Before Annabeth could even completely get herself out of the car, Sally had her in a bear hug, one the younger girl returned full-heartedly.

"I've missed you so much Sally," Annabeth smiled. Sally pulled away, dabbing at her eyes. "You've grown so big...you're a woman now!" Annabeth felt her face heat up. Having a mother had been something deprived of her at a young age, and Sally, who's parents died in a plane crash, knew the feeling all too well. So she tried her hardest to make Annabeth feel like she had someone to turn to, and Annabeth felt eternally grateful for that. "I've promised myself I wouldn't cry. Percy never told me how much you've changed." She looked her over.

"Per...Percy talks about me?" Annabeth asked in a small voice. Sally stared at her blankly then a sly smirk grew on her face. "He never stopped talking about you. Even before you two met again, he'd always said you were his biggest what if. Always wondered about you, Annabeth. Just like old times."

_Just like old times..._

The thought of Percy still being hung up over her like she'd been for him filled Annabeth with warmth. Maybe that breaking up incident had just been another falling out. They could've stayed in contact at least. They still missed each other, but were too stubborn to call the other. Maybe all they needed was to have an excuse to meet again. She felt so stupid- all along, he was waiting for her, just like she'd done for were both the Rapunzel in the situation. All she could have done was call out to him.

Which is why she wouldn't wait for Percy this time. She would make the first move.

"Ah-um, where is he?" Annabeth asked, feeling awkward again. Sally lightly hit her forehead and rolled her eyes at herself. "I'm so sorry, where are my manners? The graduation must have already started. He's inside."

"Oh- Sally, I didn't mean to make you late-"

She hushed Annabeth. "Oh honey, it's not you. It's my chatting that's making delaying us."

So the walked up the stairs and into the building. Annabeth felt a sense of deja vu, when _she_ was the one who was graduating and she was so nervous she hid in a broom closet. Sally had come found her, and gave her one of those mom speeches, and literally walked Annabeth down the isle to her seat in the auditorium.

Annabeth's eyebrows knitted. She didn't hear any music, or the noise of people sitting in their sleep or any murmurs of conversation. "Sally-"

Sally stopped. "Oh dear. I told Percy it was 8 a.m. not p.m.!"

"Are you sure? I mean, I can go check with the office..." And then she realized that there was no one else here. Outside,there were a whole bunch of cars in the parking lot, and balloons all over. She had even seen a group of students entering from the side door.

"No, its quite alright honey. I just have to go find Tyson- I think he went over there." She pointed down the hallway.

"Oh, I can do it for you Sally. Besides; It'd be nice to see Tyson again," Annabeth offered. Sally smiled gratefully. "Thank you, dear. I'll be waiting outside."

And so Annabeth set off in the direction Sally pointed, not one hundred percent sure where she was going. She stopped in front of the auditorium doors, and pushed her way in. He might've been there, wondering where everyone else was. But, a few minutes later, she still couldn't find him.

Right when Annabeth was about to turn and leave, she stopped. Honestly, she had no idea how she could have missed it. From the stage, it might as well have been a neon billboard.

In the inside of a rose petal heart, there was a sheet of paper that said 'Outside' in chicken scratch writing. Curiosity winning the battle against common sense, Annabeth pushed open the metal side doors and walked out, a silky smooth rose petal in one of her hands.

It took her a moment to see it, but when she did, a childish grin grew on her features. She couldn't wipe the smile off, nor did she want to.

* * *

><p><strong>PERCY'S POV<strong>

Annabeth's reaction was priceless. He wish he would have taken a picture to remember the moment, but it didn't matter. He would remember this moment forever. As he watched her awed expression, his smile grew painfully wide. His hands wrung together in front of him and he was a nervous wreck, but seeing Annabeth made all his uneasiness dissipate.

When she finally got to where he was- she had been slowly walking- she finally looked at him, and her smile widened by a fraction. "Percy...how did you...?"

He shrugged. "It's nothing."

"Seriously?" she asked. Okay, well , he had been planning this since last month, and everything finally seemed to fall into place. He knew Annabeth loved the gazebo when they were in high school, and he remembered her talking about that was one of her favorite memories, so he had tried his hardest to recreate it. Paper lanterns of different colors and Christmas tree lights wrapped around the trees surrounding the area and crossing above them, almost making it look like they were under stars. He added more to the scene too- a small lake with swans and beautiful Lilly pads. He had even expanded the space of the tiny gazebo, replacing the wood and adding a new marble statue. There were even several benches, two pushed together with a makeshift dinner table accompanied with plates and candles.

"This is not not nothing. This is..." her eyes finally met his, "amazing."

And in that moment, he knew what he was about to do was the right choice. He loved Annabeth- probably more than he loved himself, as overplayed as that sounds. Almost all of his memories included her, and he wanted to continue making memories. He loved Annabeth. As many times as he said it, he meant it even more.

Annabeth truly was beautif- no, she was gorgeous. Her awed expression mixed with the soft lighting made her seem like a child going to a carnival for the first time. And her eyes- those eyes that he had seen, dreamed about for years- looked at him with such adoration and affection it almost made him wonder if she felt the same way.

For a second he panicked- what if she _didn't_ feel anything close to how he felt? At least not anymore? And then he quickly pushed that thought away. He would not let himself think negatively.

Before he lost his nerve, he kissed her lightly, more like a peck, and then pulled back, suddenly feeling like a huge dork. He loved the way Annabeth made him feel unsure and nervous, yet at the same time comfortable and loved. Only Annabeth could make him feel that way.

No matter how many girls had passed by in the last years, Annabeth still held a huge chunk of his heart. She was his first and only love, and it was painfully obvious that that love was never going away.

He took a deep breath and took her hand gently, leading her to a bench. "Do you remember how you always used to despise cliches? And how I'd always try my hardest to recreate those cliches for you?" He asked. She stared at him for a moment, then rolled her eyes. "Well, yeah, but I'm starting to think my whole life is a cliche."

He grinned, and she smiled too. "Well, one more cliche wouldn't hurt, would it?" He asked. She didn't answer, just watched him skeptically as he stood up and grabbed his guitar. He stepped back, forgetting about the small step that leads into the gazebo, and tripped, righting himself before he could fall. Annabeth laughed. "Percy, what is this about? I thoug-"

He interrupted. "Just stop thinking for once. Nothing has to make sense at the moment. Just listen."

A serenade was probably the oldest trick in the cliche dictionary, but he strummed the guitar anyways, watching the beautiful woman in front of him.

"_It's too late, baby, there's no turning around,_

_I got my hands in my pocket and my head in a cloud_

_This is how I do, when I think about you_

_I never thought that you could break me apart_

_I keep a sinister smile and a hold on my heart_

_Wanted to get inside,_

_had to get in line_

_But not this time_

_'Cause you caught me off guard_

_Then I was running and screaming_

_I feel like a hero and you are my heroine_

_I won't try to philosophize_

_I'll just take a deep breath and I'll look in your eyes_

_This is how I feel...and it's so so real_

_I got a closet filled up to the brim_

_With the ghosts of my past and the skeletons_

_And I don't know why you'd even try, but I won't lie_

_You caught me off guard_

_But now I'm not running or screaming_

_I feel like a hero and you are my heroine_

_Do you know know that your love_

_is the sweetest sin?_

_And I feel a weakness coming on_

_Never felt so good to be so wrong_

_Had my heart on lockdown_

_And you turned me around_

_And I'm feeling like a newborn child_

_Every time I'm blessed to see you smile_

_It's not complicated,_

_I was so jaded_

_And you cau-_" Percy stopped, looking up. His cheek was wet, and he was certain he wasn't crying. Annabeth, however, looked like she was close to.

Crap. It was raining. The one thing he hadn't looked into- the freaking weather-came around to bite him in the ass. Annabeth looked up too, and then she looked back at Percy. "Seaweed Brain," she muttered, and smiled.

Although she was partially sheltered from the rain, she stood up and walked into the rain to him. While she seemed unfazed by this surprise in plan, Percy was deflated. He had worked so hard to make this perfect for her, just to have it ruined by a bitter mother nature.

Annabeth grabbed his chin and made him look at her. "Yes, that was perfectly cliched. But I liked the song," she smiled. He shrugged dejectedly. "Annabe-" She put a finger to his lips.

"You know how you worked up the courage to sing that all to me? Don't lie, I could see how you looked like you were ready to throw up. Well, now it's my turn for a confession." By now they were soaking wet, but neither of them seemed to notice. Percy watched with befuddlement as she lowered to the ground, eventually settling on one knee.

"Percy, I love you," His heart fluttered like a school girl, and he refused to break contact with the brilliant grey eyes staring up at him. "I always have and I most likely always will. I think I've loved you before I even knew what it was or how it worked. And, although, if I remember correctly, you did tell me you could never love me, I believe you. But, I'm sick of the mind games. I don't want a relationship built off of lies and deception and ending up with either one of them wanting to off themselves," her eyes flashed dangerously when he opened his mouth. "I should really hate you. You were- are, I'm still not sure- a major douche bag. But, I'm tired of having to share you with the world. I want you to be mine, as possessive as that sounds. No more lies, no more insecurity, no more bullshit. As long as I'm not the lousy sidekick, I'm perfectly fine with being your heroine."

Annabeth paused. He had no idea what she was trying to say. To him, it sounded like she was breaking off their nonexistent relationship for good, unlike the time where she had broke communications off because she was jealous. This sounded permanent. The exact opposite of what he wanted. Needed.

She rolled her eyes. "Your so dense, Percy." She reached in her pocket and pulled out a blue ringpop with green stripes. "Will you marry me, Seaweed Brain?"

Everything stopped. His whole world was Annabeth. Annabeth racing him when they were kids, Annabeth smiling at him during one of his many trips to the hospital, Annabeth kissing him; simply _Annabeth_, her eyes, her hair, and her smell of lemons and old books.

She was _his_ Annabeth, most importantly. When he didn't answer, an anxious expression replaced the one she had been wearing before. "Percy?" She asked in a small voice. She glanced at the object in her hand. "I didn't have time to pick up a real ring, and it took me forever to find a blue one- hey, what are you doing?"

He got on one knee too, so they were now at eye level, and he smiled. He reached in his pocket and pulled out an actual ring. Upon further inspection, the silver surface had an owl engraved in it, with huge diamond eyes. The inside had a date etched into it, _June 14_, their anniversary.

"You kind of ruined it," he stated bluntly. Annabeth stared at him and a laugh forced its way past his lips. "I kind of wanted to be the hero proposing to his damsel, making the big heartwarming speech. But Annabeth, the one wearing the pants in this relationship apparently, steals my thunder and makes me seem like a copycat, proposing too. Will you be my Wise Girl?"

"Ignoring how sexist that was, I'm fine with being the heroine as long as your my hero. Wait- you proposed?" She asked. Percy raised and eyebrow. "So is that a no, 'cause I can-" She stopped him, laughing. "No! It's a yes!"

They exchanged rings, Percy taking a huge bite out of his. Annabeth laughed and stood up, Percy following suit. "So it's really starting how it ended, huh?" Annabeth asked wistfully, looking back at the school. "Not yet." Percy said, grabbing her close. "I don't love you," He lied and she laughed, though he could see in her eyes that she was telling him not to joke like that. "I'm kidding." He rolled his eyes and she grabbed his face and kissed him.

He lifted his leg like the women in the old movies, and Annabeth laughed so loud she pulled back, holding her stomach and nearly choking on the rain. "Okay," she finally said. "I think I've reached my cliche limit for the day."

Rolling his eyes, he reached for her, but she ducked out or his arms and started running, laughing all the while. "C'mere!" He chased her, laughing too.

He never thought, in a million years, that he would get engaged. To Annabeth no less. Even though they were dating in high school, he never thought of it seriously. But that was the different between himself then and now. He never realized how much he truly needed her until she was gone.

At least now he knew he would never do something so stupid ever again.

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><p><strong>AN:**

**Sorry for the antclimatic ending. I don't know when this will be posted, but its March 21. I wanted to finish this before mine and **simrasimigirl**'s birthday. **

**Ah! It's over! :( I'm so sad. I've given you as much Percabeth fluff as I've promised and have failed to deliver in other song was Hero/Heroine by boys like girls. I kind of tweaked the lyrics a lil bit, if anyone noticed. Oh, and I know a lot of you wanted more Percy POVs, so here you go.**

**And, I am aware Percy's been acting a bit bipolar (not that there's anything wrong with bipolarness[?]) and I will try to sort that out in the sequel. I've also decided their anniversary was June 14, the day they bonded for the first time.**

**There was something important I needed to tell you guys but I can't remember...I guess I'll update this chapter if anything.**

**Okay, although B.F. is over, that doesn't mean I'll automatically start the sequel. I'm thinking about a little spin-off one-shot explaining a few things. I dunno. But it has come to my attention that there are severe errors that will need to be fixed. So, as of now, this story is officially under revision. ****Don't start freaking out if stuff disappear and new things show up. Sorry. **

**Oh, and the sequel's going well. Except the title. And summary. And pretty much how everything's going to work out. But I have the ideas and cameos and new characters, so that's going well.**

**In the mean time, I'll be finishing the two stories I had to put on hold because of Beautifully Flawed. Stupidity Killed the Cat and In The Grey.**

**Oh, and shout out to **Amethystgirly** for being the 200th reviewer! I think. I literally kicked my laptop when I logged on to 202 reviews! Thank you so much GFreaks [the name I am officially dubbing my fans, if I have any]! If anyone comes up with a better name, please tell me. I'm desperate.**

**Review! :( **

**I dare you, reader, to put your honest opinion of this fanfiction in a review.**

**~Greekfreak302**

**Almost forgot to ask; which sounds better? Shattered Elysium or Imperfect Utopia?**


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